Cinequest, Silicon Valley's creativity and film institute, turns twenty-five with a heightened focus on the future and its exciting possibilities. Cinequest's unique nature and cumulative impact are the result of a powerful fusion of creativity, filmmaking and technological innovation-significantly transforming our future. To celebrate its legacy, as well as its future, Cinequest announces two powerful youth-meet visionary experiences: The PICTURE THE POSSIBILITIES SUMMIT and the FUTURE OF FILM showcase.
ANNOUNCING PICTURE THE POSSIBILITIES SUMMIT
On February 28th, global youth, scientists, artists and luminaries will gather at the Picture The Possibilities Summit to explore the theme of Creative Confidence.
Picture The Possibilities. Picture It. Create It. Picture The Possibilities (PTP), by Cinequest, empowers youth across the globe with the inspiration, tools, and confidence to form and create their dreams-from art to science-regardless of their circumstances and challenges. PTP provides youth with the following opportunities and creative power:
- In PTP City Sessions (across the globe) youth experience the 7 Powers of Creating program that teaches them how to create anything, from art to science. They practice this power by making films (with mentors), an optimal medium through which they can experience bringing an idea or vision to reality. Seeing how to bring a picture from an idea into reality, they can then apply this creative process to other aspects of their lives and dreams. PTP also creates personal profiles on each participant, sharing their stories and dreams with the world.
- On-line services via the PTP Channel and PTP Site, where youth access PTP Show, youth movies and profiles, plus the 7 Powers Of Creating videos and book.
- Picture The Possibilities Summit: Creativity is equally important to innovators and scientists, as it is to artists. At PTP Summit Silicon Valley, global youth connect with luminaries to share their creations and empower each other and, in turn, our future. The PTP Summit celebrates and fosters the creative force of science, technology and art. PTP youth and these select luminaries picture possibilities, then set forward on a quest to create them. The 2015 PTP Summit will take place at the California Theatre in San Jose/Silicon Valley, from 3pm to 5pm, exploring the theme of Creative Confidence.
Please enjoy Picture The Possibilities Summit video.
Picture The Possibilities empowers youth to express a personal reality, to picture/imagine a desired future, and to tap into their creative powers to make that dream real. It emboldens, inspires, and offers opportunities for improved lives and, by extension, an improved world, forged from the collective powers of creativity and innovation.
ANNOUNCING THE FUTURE OF FILM showcase at the Cinequest Film Festival (CQFF)
"I think the most important thing about Cinequest is it's definitely the first time I've ever come to a festival where my immediate reaction is, 'What do I have to do to be invited back?' and that's not normally my reaction. It's a perfect film festival in a glorious place." - Neil Gaiman, Maverick Spirit Award Winner
CQFF announces the addition of the FUTURE OF FILM showcase, consisting of three intersecting elements:
- Youth Film Exhibitions: CQFF builds the world's largest youth film discovery exhibition, comprised of high school and college film competitions, as well as youth films from Cinequest's Picture The Possibilities.
- Youth Meet Luminaries Forums: Roundtables, workshops and panels, engaging students and emerging film artists with seasoned filmmaking and technology pros. Forums provide opportunities for young filmmakers and renowned creative forces within the industry to connect and interact on key filmmaking elements and the FUTURE OF FILM. Forums include: Day of Writer, Day of Producer, Day of Director, Day of Cinematographer, Day of Post Production, Day of Financing.
- Innovation Experiences: Includes hands-on sessions with groundbreaking media technologies and inspirational Maverick Innovator celebrations. Highlights will feature a stunning exhibition of the cutting-edge Escape theatre experience and Escape film program.
"You find the future of film at Cinequest. Other festivals copy Cinequest. I see it all the time." - Chris Gore, author Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide
Please enjoy This Is Cinequest Film Festival video.
CINEQUEST TO DATE-POWERING OUR FUTURE
Cinequest fuses the world of creativity and film with the unique creativity of Silicon Valley, empowering visionary youth, artists and innovators to conceive and connect...and drive transformation to build a better tomorrow. Cinequest nonprofit institute serves through Picture The Possibilities, and Cinequest Film Festival (CQFF).
Cinequest's legacy is realized through empowering artists, innovators, as well as individuals from all walks of life. Five aspects define the Cinequest legacy: 1) Innovation 2) Inspiration 3) Connection 4) Discovery and 5) Creativity.
POWER OF INNOVATION
Widely regarded as "the future of film," Cinequest continues to showcase awe-inspiring technologies and innovators that continually reshape and redefine media and the media arts. The history of firsts unveiled to the world at Cinequest include: numerous digital filmmaking technologies that revolutionized and democratized access and opportunity; Internet film distribution and delivery; digital film projection and servers; smart phone mobile cinema, a quantum leap, distribution solution for festival favorites; the first online film festival, and much more. At CQFF, we have presented many of the geniuses and envelope-pushing innovators who have opened doors to opportunity and widened access, enhancing quality and expanding the range and impact of an entirely new sphere of creators.
POWER OF INSPIRATION
Nothing empowers like fueled inspiration. Inspiration burns from within and can often ignite the creative fires in others. Cinequest thrives on providing inspiration, through Maverick luminaries' conversations and stimulating documentaries. CQFF's most prestigious award, the Maverick Spirit, celebrates the boldness and originality of both the Silicon Valley and filmmaking creator. Previous Maverick Spirit Award honorees have included J.J. Abrams, Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Sir Ben Kingsley, Alec Baldwin, Minnie Driver, Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant, Sir Ian McKellen, and Neil Gaiman. Maverick Innovator Award events have included Marty Cooper ("father" of the cell phone) as well as dozens of innovators who have revolutionized filmmaking, exhibition and distribution.
POWER OF CONNECTION
Great films connect us to vastly interesting worlds, immersing us in previously unexplored cultures, perspectives, ideas, and ways of life. The Silicon Valley similarly connects the world via various technologies, providing unlimited information and creating communication portals between friends and strangers, individuals and communities. The Silicon Valley promotes and fosters inclusive access to knowledge and the means to connect people and ideas. At Cinequest there is a profound commitment to not just welcoming people from all walks of life, cultures, economics, and age, but to facilitate these connections in a variety of avenues, such as casual and inviting forums, friendly, engaging lounges and venues and entertaining and inspiring events.
Cinequest's critical fulfillment of this service of connection would be impossible without the more than 700 Volunteers and 50 Interns that annually provide Cinequest's incomparable customer service; over 1M volunteer-hours, enabling artists, audiences and individuals from all walks of life to connect and empower one another.
POWER OF DISCOVERY
CQFF, often recognized as the "last big bastion of discover," continues to focus on discovering talented, new film art and artists, and the complementary innovations that support these creative visions. Highlights of CQFF's more than two decades history include:
- Over 7,000 Artists & Innovators from 55 countries
- Over 1,200 film premieres
- Seventy-five percent of the film premieres are genuine, discovery films/artists resulting from submissions, rather than previously exhibited works.
- Over one million film lovers experienced film screenings and artist presentations at CQFF-with over 75 Million discovering festival favorites through Cinequest Distribution and Cinequest's Online Film Festival. This year over 100,000 people are expected to connect in unique, state-of-the-art venues, all within a 4-block radius.
- Cinequest has premiered the early work and helped launch or further the careers of scores of artists, including Ben Affleck, Mira Sorvino, Darren Aronofsky and Rene Zellweger.
- Cinequest Inc. discovers and nurtures emerging talent, having mentored over 5,000 aspiring filmmaker high school and college students-providing professional training and experience that would otherwise have been unavailable.
POWER OF CREATING
CQFF's sister organization, Picture The Possibilities by Cinequest (PTP), empowers global youth with the tools and inspiration to realize their dreams, within the arts and/or sciences, through a process called the 7 Powers Of Creating. Youth from around the world employ this 7 Powers process via shorts filmmaking, what we consider the optimal means to develop and realize a picture (idea) into a reality.
Since its inception, PTP has served thousands of youth in Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Mexico City, New York City, San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Silicon Valley. PTP has also created 10 e-learning videos on the 7 Powers of Creating process, a 7 Powers Of Creating book, a weekly PTP Youtube show, plus hundreds of youth-generated films and other creative projects. For further detail, please see www.picturethepossibilities.org.
CQFF's 25th Anniversary Theme, The Power Of Creating, celebrates the creative process and urges participants to activate their personal creative powers.
CINEQUEST LEADERSHIP
"Strength comes from the people involved and how great their passion and skills are. The leaders of Cinequest have both of those. That's why it's been with us for some time and will still be here long into the future." - Steve Wozniak (Co-Founder, Apple Inc., Cinequest Board).
Cinequest originated from an unyielding faith in the power of Maverick art, artists, and innovators to transform our lives...for the better. Founded and operated by film artists and Silicon Valley leaders, Cinequest continues to fulfill its vision of serving the bold, trailblazing game-changers that revolutionize our lives and pry open the potential for creating, connecting and experiencing an entirely new way of seeing and being. Cinequest was created to provide opportunity and power to artists, innovators, audiences, and global youth. Cinequest has led in democratizing voice and access, overturning outdated and exclusionary systems, thereby enabling personal visions to be realized, ones that benefit our lives and improve our collective future.
Cinequest has been and remains "the real deal." Cited as two of the 25 people who most dramatically changed the Silicon Valley over the past 25 years, Cinequest President Kathleen J. Powell and Director/CEO Halfdan Hussey have dedicated their talent, skill, and hard work to empower artists, audiences, innovators and youth around the world. Cinequest's business model has been an unqualified success. The Organization has maintained a stellar record of fiscal management (receiving Charity Navigator's coveted 4-star ranking; operating debt-free each year, regardless of economic conditions) while generating over $130M of economic impact for its community through the numerous CQFFs and even more globally, through Picture The Possibilities by Cinequest.
"Cinequest is a qualitative organization, focusing on impact to an individual or a community-rippling to the world. Cinequest's uniqueness stems from being always ahead of the curve in the giving of opportunity, the democratization of voice and the disruption of outdated systems. It's a celebration of Maverick creativity, a laboratory of new ideas, and an enabler of creativity, all rolled into one." - Cinequest co-founders Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen J. Powell