About SOAPIFF 2009

SOAPIFF, with support and cooperation from regional institutions, local agencies, East Tennessee State University, the Northeast Tennessee Art Commisssion, the JCDA, business and individual sponsors, presents films from the Festival competitions, retrospective screenings, related educational seminars and promotional events during the annual Southern Appalachian International Film Festival also known as SOAPIFF (the "Festival"). The purpose of SOAPIFF is to publicly recognize, promote and preserve the work of independent filmmakers and encourage film production and film culture in Southern Appalachia. SOAPIFF revives an annual film festival in the greater Tri-Cities, Tennessee, the birthplace of the oldest continuous independent film festival in the American South (the Sinking Creek Film Celebration). SOAPIFF will entertain, educate and also present speakers, seminars and other art forms that play collaborative roles in film production and promotion. To that end, the Organizers aim to provide Festival entrants with an opportunity to showcase their movies to as wide an audience as possible with the premiere of their entries, if selected, at SOAPIFF in multiple theatres, and, when possible, via distribution of entry materials for promotional purposes separate from, and/or before, during and/or following the Festival.

Preservation of film is important to SOAPIFF. SOAPIFF intends to prevent the loss of many independent films over time by placing films in an archive in the Archives of Appalachia, located in Sherrod Library on the campus of ETSU, purely for the purposes of preservation and research. It is worth noting that the missing footage from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" was recently discovered in a film archive in Argentina. All entries (both selected and non-selected) will be added to the Festival collection in the Archives of Appalachia at ETSU where they may be preserved indefinitely for research. If you object to this, please let us know and we will not place your film in the archives.

The primary purpose of the Festival is to support the creative work of movie makers by exposure, promotion and preservation of their movies. In order to attract the widest audience, movie screenings at SOAPIFF are presented free to the public.

Festival Founder, Mark D. Compton

SOAPIFF.com
markcompton@soapiff.com

Telephone: 1- 423-743-7627

SOAPIFF
Southern Appalachian International Film Festival
205 Union Street, Suite 4
Erwin, TN 37650