National Geographic Society

Since its premiere at Sundance in 2008, Frozen River has been on a fabulous run of success, earning the festival's grand jury prize for Best U.S. Drama and subsequently landing a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics. One year later, the film stands on the plateau of the ultimate industry honor, receiving two Academy Award® nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress (Melissa Leo) in a leading role. Produced by All Roads seed grantee Heather Rae (Trudell 2005), this honor is yet another achievement in what has been a prolific career for the filmmaker.

All Roads will present a special screening of Frozen River at National Geographic in Washington D.C. on March 24.

While Washington D.C. may not be known as the mecca of cinema, the thriving industry of filmmaking and production are being hailed as one of the next waves of growth for the nation's capital. Most of the relevant cinema cities are given unique catch-phrases that capture the imagination of filmgoers around the world, such as Hollywood (USA), Bollywood (India) and Nollywood (Nigeria). Apparently there is a new "wood" on the scene, Pollywood. The term was coined by D.C.'s glossy monthly magazine, Washington Life as a means of highlighting the city's local film, production and the cause-related activities of celebrities descending upon our capital to mix, mingle and lobby the extensive cache of political, diplomatic and media types residing here - Power, Politics, Film and Celebrity.

In honor of the new found moniker, the magazine has added a special, annual "Pollywood Players" edition to compliment the other various categories and lists of those making an impact. Among those making the cut this year are Francene Blythe, Director, All Roads Film Project (pictured) and Greg McGruder, VP National Geographic Live & Explorers Hall. This recognition is a testament to the growing influence, impact and relevance of the filmmakers and films that are showcased and supported by the All Roads Film Project.

Stay Tuned...

The winners of the 2007 All Roads Film Festival are we, the audience who were able to witness these amazing works and the artists who were given this platform to share their stories.  That said, All Roads does give special recognition the the films voted on by the audience in the categories of "Best Short" and "Best Feature Film."  This year, there was actually a tie in the Short's category with Daf (Bahman Ghobadi) and Taua (Tearepa Kahi) sharing the honor.  Super Amigos (Arturo Perez Torres) received the top prize for Best Feature.  With the closing of the Washington D.C. run of All Roads, all of the filmmakers and photographers departed for their home destinations across the globe.  New relationships both professional and personal were realized here as this amazing diversity of talent were brought together for this landmark event.  In addition to the screening of these amazing works, the artists were also given intimate access to industry executives who lead such panels as, Marketing and Distribution on the International Market, Film Distribution and New Media,  Story Development and Distribution in the U.S. and Creative Funding Strategies. 

Images by Becky Hale, National Geographic Society