Gwinnett Daily Post

Special Photos. Clockwise from top right, "Sahkanaga," and "Late Rounders" are films that have a Georgia connection that will be featured at the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival.

Beginning Thursday and running through May 7, the 35th annual Atlanta Film Festival promises to offer virtually something for everyone. Over the nine-day stretch, there will be 125 titles screened (culled from more than a staggering 1,500 submissions), the most in the festival’s history, which include a wide-range of selections from the live-action, documentary, animation and shorts categories.

This year marks the first time in the festival’s history that instructional seminars, workshops, lectures and classes will be offered to both local film industry professionals and patrons. Dubbed “CINformation,” these events will feature debates covering industry and technology and beginners series that include “Get Your Child into Commercials and Movies,” “How to Pitch Your Project,” “How To Get an Agent” and “Making Your Home or Office a Shooting Location.”

Some of the industry professionals scheduled to appear at some of these events include producer Tom Luse (“The Walking Dead: Season 1”); Emmy-nominated casting director and talent agent Shay Bentley-Griffin; Senior Vice President of Adult Swim Mike Lazzo; Jen Kelley and Brenda Pauley, casting agents of nationally recognized The People Store; Joy Pervis, Executive Vice President of HLN, Scot Safon; Executive Vice President of EUE/Screen Gems Atlanta, Kris Bagwell and many more. The seminars and lectures will be conducted at the W Hotel in Midtown and the Landmark Theatre.

For more information or to register online for seats at these exclusive workshops, visit www.atlantafilmfestival.com/cinformation.

In keeping with the festival’s local flavor and roots, several of the featured titles have a Georgia connection. Some of the included are the documentaries “Late Rounders” and “Disabled but Able to Rock,” the religious satire “The Catechism Cataclysm,” the murder mystery “Sahkanaga” and “The Little Death,” the third feature from acclaimed writer/director Bret Wood.

Already scheduled for a summer 2011 New York release, Wood’s film is an adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s play “Death and Devil” with elements of Anton Chekov’s short story “Nervous Breakdown.” A previous AFF award winner (in 2007 for screenplay), Wood is one of the most interesting and provocative filmmakers the area has ever produced.

While the majority of the screenings will be screened at the Landmark Midtown Arts Cinema on Monroe Drive in Atlanta, others will take place at the Plaza on Ponce De Leon Avenue and the Lefont on Sandy Springs Circle in Sandy Springs. For full festival information including events, show times, local food and beverage options, volunteer opportunities, film synopses and tickets, go to www.atlantafilmfestival.com.