BNFF11: The 5th Annual Buffalo Niagara Film Festival Recap

Another year—another Buffalo Niagara Film Festival complete. 2011 was definitely an evolution for Bill Cowell’s brainchild, bringing in the most filmmakers to promote their work I’ve seen, the inclusion of a new venue with Niagara Falls’ Rapids Theatre, and the first ever ‘Star’ on the BNFF Walk of Fame. The ten-day event smartly coincided with the end of the Buffalo Sabres’ hockey season rather than the start of a playoff run like last year; saw some cold days, but no snow; and did whatever it could to increase audience attendance.…

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BNFF11 REVIEW: Rideshare [2011]

“I gave up Jesus for Lent” After watching a screening of the new film Rideshare at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, I had two thoughts. One: the camera on my Blackberry is HORRIBLE in comparison to the amazing clarity of the iPhone HD 4’s this film was shot in its entirety on, even blown up to theatrical screen size; Two: very funny, cute, and improvised comedies can be made on an ultra-low budget of $34,000 when the bloated fiscal behemoths Hollywood churns out have more of a chance at failure…

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