November 7-11, 2012

Poster Contest

Design and enter your poster for a chance to have it become the official festival poster, and $500 or 2 festival passes!

When it comes to film, Sun & Sand goes far beyond screenings. We’ll unveil the industry’s latest concepts, equipment and emerging technologies…

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THE HELP IS A WINNER FOR MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Oscar night parties at The Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood and at Brent’s Drugs in Jackson erupted in cheers and tears when Octavia Spencer was named the Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, for her performance as the brassy maid Minny in THE HELP.  

During the filming in Greenwood in 2010, many of the cast and crew stayed at The Alluvian, a boutique hotel restored by Fred Carl and the Viking Corporation, which is headquartered in Greenwood.  Brent’s Drugs is a featured location in both Kathryn Stockett’s novel and writer/director Tate Taylor’s film.  Stockett, Taylor, and the film’s producer, Brunson Green, are all Jackson natives.

For Octavia Spencer, who had previously been honored by the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the BAFTA Awards, the NAACP Image Awards - it was her first Oscar win and her first nomination.  She also was featured in Tate Taylor’s previous films:  a short film called, “Chicken Party,” and the feature, PRETTY UGLY PEOPLE.  Both films were also produced by Green.

THE HELP was filmed entirely on location in Mississippi, primarily in Greenwood on the edge of the Mississippi Delta, with additional locations in Clarksdale and Jackson. 

Last fall, two independent films, HAUNTED (Greenville) and RISE AGAIN (Natchez), and the reality series, FULL METAL JOUSTING (Jackson/Clinton) all filmed in Mississippi, and the spring and summer are going to be busy with production across the state.

Everyone in Mississippi knows THE HELP was a very special film, and such magic is not going to happen every time out; but, that said, they also know Mississippi is an inspiring place for storytellers...and the next magical story could happen anywhere you look.

Red Planet Entertainment (RPE), with funding from the Mississippi Film Office/Mississippi Development Authority and in association with Hinds Community College and its Rankin Campus in Pearl, is committed to workforce training for the film industry in Mississippi. The first classes took place in the fall semester of 2011 and are about to get underway for the spring semester of 2012.

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