By Dylan SYLVESTER

The Glendale International Film Festival is returning this week. From Oct. 5-12, the fifth annual event is a celebration of all things cinema. As one might expect, the GIFF is a showcase of the cinematic arts, gathering film talent from around the world, while also highlighting the talent emanating from the City of Glendale.

Velvet Rhodes is the organizer and founder of the festival. After attending different film festivals around the world, she returned to her hometown of Glendale and wondered why there was no local film festival. From question to action, in 2014 the Glendale International Film Festival was born.

Rhodes explained that the festival is a way for filmmakers and screenwriters to see their works come alive on the big screen, as well as giving them the opportunity for audiences to enjoy their work.

Festival attendees can expect to see a wide variety of films; organizers accept everything from student films and shorts to feature films for consideration. Documentaries, experimental films and even music videos also hold an important place in the festival, both from local artists as well as international contestants. One of Rhodes’ goals is to incorporate diversity within the art seen at the festival, along with those who submit it. She said she is always excited to show different cultures and how they come together through film.

Rhodes’ own submission, the documentary “Vintage Glorious Glendale,” will be featured in the film festival. In it she shares the history of both the town of Glendale as well as the people who inhabit it, showing why Glendale earned its name the Jewel City. Rhodes may also be discussing her plans for a follow-up film called “Vintage Crescenta Valley” where she will be shining a light on the Crescenta Valley as she did on Glendale.

Along with the films being shown throughout the week, different events, such as panel discussions with actors and directors and a screenplay reading contest, will be held at the Capital One Café in the Americana at Brand, located 821 Americana Way, Glendale, around the corner from the Laemmle Theater, 207 No. Maryland Ave., Glendale, where the GIFF takes place. An after-party dinner on the opening night of the festival as well as the awards ceremony at the festival’s closing will be held at Gauchos Village Brazilian steak house across the street from the theater at 135 No. Maryland Ave.

For those excited to attend all the festival has to offer, anything from time block passes for the afternoon to full access passes for the entire week are available for purchase on glendaleinternationalfilmfestival.com. On the website a full itinerary will also be available for when specific films will be playing as well as when the panel discussions and opportunities to meet with actors and directors will be available.

In preparation for the festival, some of the attending filmmakers shared a bit about their films and how they came to being part of the GIFF. Filmmaker Jeff Witzeman spoke about his 2017 documentary, “Cancer Can Be Killed.” In it he explains how the current medical treatments surrounding cancer may be doing more harm than good to a person’s body, and how alternative, more natural treatments could save lives. Witzeman explained that he was inspired to make the film after his wife was diagnosed with stage three cancer and, instead of following the traditional route, his family traveled to Germany where natural healing for cancer is more common, leading to the complete eradication of his wife’s cancer without the need for chemo therapy.

Since its release, the film has gained traction, being seen in film festivals across the country and leading people to question and even abandon what is considered to be the modern methods of cancer rehabilitation, taking on instead this natural method of healing.

Witzeman is particularly excited to have his film shown at the GIFF this week.

“The beauty of it being in Glendale is that it’s my hometown,” he said, adding Glendale is where he hopes to share with those in his community the ideas he has taken across the country and around the world. “Something is changing in society, and it’s fun to be a part of it.”

He said he sees more people question their current cancer treatments and consider healthier options to heal their disease.

Witzeman has also recently, in the last few weeks, completed and released his follow-up film called “Flipping the Script.” In it he delves deep into the medicine surrounding children with cancer, and the healthy alternatives that could save a child’s life. Information about his films and more can be found at cancercanbekilled.com.

Exploring a different style of cinema, filmmaker Jamie Paolinetti explores the mystery behind dreams in his feature film “Trickster,” which will be making its Los Angeles debut at the GIFF. Although most of Paolinetti’s time is devoted to his position as artistic director for the Atwater Village Playhouse, he still carved out time for his passion for filmmaking, and with great success, considering that his film has gone to 11 different festivals in five different countries.

In his film, Paolinetti explores the ideas of dream phenomena and the mysteries that surround them. He explained that his inspiration for the film came from unexplainable dream-related experiences that he has personally experienced. After conducting more research, he discovered that millions of people around the world have had these types of dream phenomena and are equally unable to explain them. Paolinetti hopes for the film is to provoke thought in the viewers about what they know about their dreams and what they have yet to learn.

Despite the success his film has seen in the short time since its release, Paolinetti is excited about the honor of having his film shown in the festival and at this year’s venue.

“The Laemmle family has always been at the heart of independent cinema,” he said, adding this year was his first experience with the GIFF and the helpfulness of Rhodes has been “fantastic” in helping him prepare for the festival.

“I can’t say enough,” he said with a laugh, claiming that Rhodes always had the answers he needed and was a phone call away.

More information about Paolinetti’s films can be found at magnificentsevenfilms.com.

“The bottom line [of the festival],” said Rhodes, “is the love of film.”

  DYLAN SYLVESTER