Experience the Johnstown Film & Wine Festival

July 9th, 2009

Guest Blogger, Jim DiSpirito

My wife Carol (a Johnstown native), our son and I headed out to the Johnstown Film & Wine Festival last night. Carol and I gave a Q&A after the screening of Carl Kurlander’s “My Tale of Two Cities,” a film with a funny and heartfelt “comeback” story about coming home and cities and people reinventing themselves for a new age. The film features “St. Elmo’s Fire” screenwriter Carl Kurlander who returns to his hometown with his family in search of a simpler and more meaningful life, only to discover that both he and the city of Pittsburgh are going through a mid-life crisis.

We discussed working on the film with Carl and how we approached scoring the music soundtrack. We also shared stories about the filming process and some ‘insider’ stories about our friend Carl, who is so incredibly talented and funny.

The screening was held in the Johnstown Flood Museum, which if you haven’t seen yet, you must make a point of visiting. The rest of the festival [and the wine tasting] is being held at the Heritage Discovery Center, just a few blocks away, which has many different attractions including a children’s museum.

It was a pleasure meeting everyone that came out for the festival last night and we wish the best for the continued success of the event.

The Johnstown Film & Wine Festival is a competition of short films. Now preparing for its fourth year, the popular event is being held from July 8-11, 2009.

And don’t miss the Flood City Music Festival, August 21 - 23. Produced by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, the festival is the successor event to the Johnstown FolkFest.

Please make an effort to support these types of community programs. It’s a worthy cause, and its fun!

Click here to find out more about the screening of My Tale of Two Cities.