Carmel Art & Film Festival

When:
Sunset Center, San Carlos Street and Ninth Avenue

Where:
Wednesday, October 12.

Let loose the free spirit within and let's get busy. Independent filmmakers and contemporary artists always present a kaleidoscope of ideas; a colored, textured world where creativity can incubate; where the quest for symmetry is happily rejected to make room for the unconventional; where form and function do not always follow the rules. With an abandon that can only come from pure passion, filmmakers and artists create narratives hoping for that magical connection. It is an exchange of ideas without the conference table; a cultural report without the spiral binding - a job that rejects the nine to five but also comes with no guarantee of a paycheck. Who signs up for this? The answer is simple - artists who have something to say. So we come together to celebrate that creative spirit and the people who love it, breathe it, and embrace it. We encourage you to let yourself go. Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole, we expect you will find a wonderfully wild place with surprises at every turn and a cast of memorable characters who somehow tell us something about ourselves. Welcome to the Carmel Art and Film Festival 2011. Carmel is an idyllic little hamlet by the sea with world famous white sand beaches, a quaint European-inspired downtown shopping district, renowned restaurants and hotels, and it is Clint Eastwood country. So it stands to reason that Carmel would also be home to an international art and film festival. Screening over a 100 films in unique and beautiful venues over five days, the festival is quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon on the West Coast and beyond. One of the highlights every year is the presentation of the Clint Eastwood Filmmakers Award. Designed to give Clint and Dina Eastwood wide latitude in deciding who wins, the award is given to an artist who exemplifies the ideals in filmmaking that Clint has embodied over his many years as an industry leader. Few places on earth compare to the natural beauty and sophistication of Carmel-by-the-Sea.