About the International Student Film Festival Hollywood

After years of work in film and theater and passionate about the opportunity to offer student filmmakers well-deserved recognition for their talents, entertainment industry veteran, Robin Saban founded the International Student Film Festival Hollywood (ISFFH), focused solely on students in September of 2003.

Hollywood is the capital city of the entertainment world. The International Student Film Festival Hollywood is the only film festival that embraces all ages from around the world, offering students the unique opportunity to gain the recognition of film industry leaders creating career development opportunities in their home countries as well as the United States.

Student filmmakers actively engage in discussions facilitated by industry professionals, further building their enthusiasm, self-confidence, and public speaking skills. At the same time, it is an opportunity to entertain, enlighten, educate, and engage the audience.

The opportunities provided by the ISFFH not only benefit the students, but the world community by bringing together people of diverse cultures and differing viewpoints.

Each year we have had the privilege of receiving over 275 film submissions. The ISFFH welcomes students of all ethnic and academic backgrounds. Our targeted demographic is both male and female film students ages 7 to 65 from elementary through graduate school. Our participants come from all economic levels. Most participants are undergraduate or graduate film students from educational organizations throughout the world. High school, Junior High School and Elementary students compete among their own peers.

Awards are presented to winners after their films are judged by a panel of professional filmmakers, directors, producers, actors, distributors, agents, film critics, journalists and professors that comprise the jury. Films first go through a preliminary screening, then separated into genres they go before a panel of judges, and on to the blue ribbon judges. Awards are given in a variety of categories and may change year to year depending on the submissions; some of the categories are Grand Jury Award, Humanitarian Award, Best Drama, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Animation, Best Cinematography, and Best Music Video. Past awards can be seen on our website www.isffhollywood.org

Our Board of Directors is comprised of professionals who have ties to the community and take pride in their dedication to support our emerging filmmakers.

The first International Student Film Festival Hollywood was held in 2003, bringing filmmakers from over 100 schools and 18 countries together to share their work and creativity. The opening night gala took place at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with screenings and the awards ceremony taking place at the historic El Portal Theatre in the NOHO Arts District of North Hollywood.

The Festival added a monthly “Film Night” to its calendar, inviting the Festival’s filmmakers to introduce their work and hold Q & A sessions with the audience. Guest speakers from the industry are also invited to discuss the filmmaking process and its challenges.

Each year the ISFFH has had the privilege of honoring worthy celebrities such as Bonnie Bruckheimer, Lainie Kazan, Jennifer Lynch, and holding a tribute to James Coburn. 2007 was no different; we had the privilege of presenting the Life Time Achievement Award to A.C. Lyles in honor of his long association and his outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry. Mr. Lyles shared with the filmmakers how his persistence paid off and encouraged them to keep striving for their dreams. Filmmakers and guests were honored with a surprise visit by Famed Director/Producer, Garry Marshall and Award–Winning Actor, Hector Elizondo; who graciously shared stories and took questions from the filmmakers. The ISFFH began its 5 day event with a reception for the filmmakers hosted by Actors Certified Training (ACT) in the heart of the NOHO Arts District in North Hollywood. Films were screened throughout the event at Beverly Garland’s Theater. Each screening segment was followed by a Q & A session facilitated by a professional from the film industry with the filmmakers and the audience.

The ISFFH is pleased to announce that Mike Medavoy has been confirmed as the recipient of the 2008 Life Time Achievement Award to be presented at this year’s Awards Ceremony. Mike Medavoy is the Chairman & CEO of Phoenix Pictures. Sample some of the best American films over the past twenty-five years and there’s a good chance Mr. Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agenting to studio chief, he has been involved with over 300 feature films. Dreams do come true.

Visitors to the Festival each year have ranged from 2500 guests to over 3000. The ISFFH has brought student filmmakers and their families from 5 of the worlds 7 continents, including following countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Korea, Colombia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Turkey, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Sweden, India, Iceland, Hungary, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, China, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Argentina, Finland, and from states throughout the USA. We have screened over 700 student films and the Festival has helped to place more than 20 graduate film students into production and post-production job positions.

ISFFH is a Nonprofit Corporation with State and Federal tax-exempt status under IRS code section 501 (C) 3 Tax ID Number: 03-0383978.

To see more about the ISFFH, please visit the website www.isffhollywood.org

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