Macon Review: "Miss Dial" (***)

Robinne Lee and Sam Jaeger star in "Miss Dial"

"Miss Dial" had its world premiere at the Macon Film Festival leading up to a theatrical release this month. The feature directorial debut by writer David H. Steinberg hosts a slew of familiar faces only ever sharing the screen through a split frame. Gabrielle Union, Beth Grant, Dulé Hill, Jon Huertas, Sara Rue and Ahna O'Reilly feature in limited screen time, but the show truly belongs to stars Robinne Lee and Sam Jaeger. Good chemistry between the two leads emphasizes an equally good screenplay, laced with enough spirit and authenticity to overcome the obstacle of no physical interaction between any actors.

Around town for the 2013 Macon Film Festival

The Cox Capitol Theatre marquee.

The 8th annual Macon Film Festival wrapped up a couple of weeks ago and while I have a few more reviews to go before I wrap up my coverage, I did manage to snap a few iPhone pics. As always, I need to state that I am no photographer, but I hope my photos give you a good sense of the festival and the town during the four-day event. A lot of great eateries and hangouts get pretty lively with the extra folks in town. Check out my pictures after the jump!

2013 Macon Film Festival award winners

Pamela Bowen stars in "Shoot the Moon," a big winner in Macon

There's still one day to go here at the 2013 Macon Film Festival, but Jury Award winners were announced last night. "Shoot the Moon" was the big winner, taking home awards for Best Directing and Best Sound Design as well as the Melvyn Douglas Award for Best in Show. Having been a fan of "Shoot the Moon" since RIFF, I couldn't be happier with its awards haul. "Sal," having also screened at last year's Atlanta Film Festival, took home the Best Narrative Feature prize. Other winners included "Address is Approximate," "Child 31," "A House, A Home," "The Silk" and "The Sweatshop." Filmmakers premiering their films at MaGa were also recognized. Audience Award winners will be announced tonight, as well as awards for Southern Documentary and Music Documentary.

See the full list after the jump.

What to see at the 2013 Macon Film Festival

The first leg of Georgia's film festival circuit is about to kick off with the always robust Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. But after the AJFF begins and before it ends, another Georgia gem will take place. The 8th annual Macon Film Festival (MaGa) will run from February 14th through the 17th, just three weeks away! I saw some good films, met some fun people, ate some delicious food and took many great walks around town last February and look forward to getting to do it all over again this year.

The Macon Film Festival is similar to the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) in both age and size, although I can see the big dreams and ambitions of the MaGa board propelling the fest into the reach of a broader audience within the next few years. This year, several documentaries and features look promising and the festival always offers a wide variety of short films worth looking into. The special gala presentations (one each night) are still being announced, but they usually bring one or two stars into town. Last year, veteran character actress Beth Grant ("The Artist," "Donnie Darko," "No Country for Old Men") and Macon native Carrie Preston ("Duplicity," "That's What She Said," "True Blood") showcased some of their work.

After the jump, I've highlighted several films worth checking out. A few films have played at other festivals, including both RIFF and the Atlanta Film Festival, while others are fresh out of the editing room.