Funded! Atlanta Film Festival raises nearly $18,000 in #Artists2ATL campaign

Atlanta Film Festival director Christopher Escobar interviews Ray McKinnon
and the cast of "Rectify" at the 2013 festival.

The month-long campaign to raise $13,000 to bring more filmmakers to Atlanta for the 2014 Atlanta Film Festival has ended with great success. Passing the $13,000 goal on day 22, the festival secured the funds needed to more than triple its filmmaker travel budget. Kickstarter campaigns only work if you raise at least 100% of your set goal.

After 360 backers contributed a total of $17,909, the festival will now be able to use that money to pay for the filmmakers behind its 2014 lineup to attend the festival, enriching the experience for everyone involved.

The festival issued this statement on the campaign page:

Our profound thanks to the more than 300 backers who helped us raise meet and exceed our goal. Thanks to you, we'll be able to bring more filmmakers to the festival in the Spring of 2014 to share the experience with you.  

If you missed the funding deadline and want to secure your Pass to the festival, head over to this page. Just want to support the festival? This page can help you do that.

While this is a remarkable achievement, it is just one sign of the great things to come at the Atlanta Film Festival. No doubt on its way to being a destination festival for filmmakers and film-fans alike, the nearly 40-year-old organization is a cultural institution for the city, for Georgia and for the Southeast.

Stay tuned—in the coming weeks, we will preview some of the first films programmed for the 2014 lineup.

Filmmakers and stars to walk the red carpet at the 2013 Atlanta FIlm Festival

From left: Ray McKinnon, Abigail Spencer, James Ponsoldt and Joseph Morgan
are all set to walk the red carpet at various ATLFF screenings.

Kicking off with "Mud" tomorrow night, the Atlanta Film Festival couldn't properly begin without rolling out the red carpet at the Plaza Theatre. Actor Ray McKinnon will be in town representing "Mud," which also stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard and Tye Sheridan.

The ATLFF red carpet has always been more of a filmmaker's event than a showy A-lister ordeal, shining the proper light on the talent and passion behind the projects. Plenty of pretty faces and actors make their way down the press line, however, and this year is no different. McKinnon will appear again Saturday (March 16th) for "Rectify," his new Georgia-lensed Sundance Channel original series. He is bringing along a few of his stars, too. Abigail Spencer ("Mad Men," "Oz the Great and Powerful"), Clayne Crawford ("24," "The Glades," "Justified"), Kim Wall ("American Reunion"), Sharon Morris ("The Blind Side") and Adam Fristoe ("Teen Wolf") are all set to appear. Joseph Morgan of "The Vampire Diaries" will walk the red carpet for the screening of his short film "Revelation." For the closing night film, "The Spectacular Now," native Georgian and director James Ponsoldt is scheduled to appear (March 23rd).

More stars and filmmakers could very well make their way to the fest, especially with all the in-town filming taking place.

What to see at the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival

At nearly 40 years old (37, to be exact), the Atlanta Film Festival has earned the distinction of Georgia's foremost festival event. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is a more sprawling, ticket-selling extravaganza. The Savannah Film Festival hosts bigger stars and showcases 'higher profile' films. The Macon Film Festival and Rome International Film Festival are famously friendly and tremendously resourceful. But the years have been kind and the decades of extra experience have paid off for the ATLFF. For a long time, the festival floundered to find its niche– not knowing whether to focus on Southern film, independent film, LGBT film or to just pick up scraps from other, more established festivals. Last year, under the leadership of new executive director, Chris Escobar, and recently crowned festival director, Charles Judson, the festival made great strides towards a unique, truly Atlantan voice. This year, that voice rings out with an uninhibited clarity.

Just as Georgia's film industry, both commercially and independently, has taken off and continues to move at a break-neck speed, the ATLFF has managed to become a destination film fest for international filmmakers while placing a huge emphasis on our locally-grown work. This year's lineup is the most solid, cohesive yet. While we see a few all-stars from this season's earlier festivals (Sundance, SXSW, Toronto); a slew of unique programming enters the race here, including dozens of Georgia-made features and shorts. Congratulations to Judson and company for all your hard work paying off!

Now, what should you see this year? The correct answer would be, 'as much as you can.' The ten day event features plenty for anyone and everyone. Saturdays and Sundays are jam-packed with programming, but you won't have to worry about leaving work to catch a film as weekday screenings are set in the evening. If you can get away during the weekdays, though, please do. The Cinformation seminar series is going to be well worth your time.

I simply can't wait for the big kickoff this Friday. After the jump, I've highlighted this year's most promising fare– including the big names, the buzzed titles and all the homegrown good stuff.

Complete 2013 Atlanta Film Festival line-up

The famed Plaza Theatre, home of this year's Atlanta Film Festival.
(Image from www.plazatlanta.com)

Only nine more days until Georgia's signature film festival kicks off it's 37th season with "Mud" at the Plaza Theatre. We'll be bringing you all sorts of coverage– reviews, photos, giveaways and more. Check back soon for our picks of what to see at the festival, with an emphasis on the Georgia-made films. But for now– check out the full slate of programming.

Opening Night
Mud

Closing Night
The Spectacular Now (GA)

Special Presentations
Rectify (GA)
Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin n Cryin (GA)
Faces In The Mirror
The Whitest Kids U' Know
WonderRoot Generally Local, Mostly Independent

Jeff Nichols' "Mud" to open Atlanta Film Festival

The Atlanta Film Festival has been slowly releasing a few titles at a time, but won't officially announce the lineup until later this week. On March 15th, Jeff Nichols' "Mud" will kick off the festival. One of the film's actors, Ray McKinnon, will be on hand during opening night festivities. I suspect that McKinnon might also be at the festival to promote "Rectify," his new Sundance Channel original series. "Rectify" was shot in Griffin and centers around an exonerated Georgia death row inmate.

Fresh off the success of 2011's "Take Shelter," writer-director Nichols looks to have another hit on his hands with "Mud." After its premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, "Mud" rose to the top of the critical anticipation lists for 2013. The film stars Matthew McConaughey in the eponymous role as a fugitive who meets two teenagers that help him evade local authorities as he searches for his love in rural Arkansas. Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Ray McKinnon, Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson and Joe Don Baker round out the impressive cast. The film screened in Sundance last month and will be released theatrically on April 26th.

Look for more coverage of the 2013 ATLFF soon and check out the trailer for "Mud" after the jump.