AMFM Festival Begins Thursday

By City News Service:

The second annual AMFM Festival, featuring movies, music and art shows, will get underway in Cathedral City Thursday.

The festival at the Mary Pickford Theater through Sunday also will include panel discussions and workshops that celebrate “the interconnectedness of all art forms,” director Stephanie Bell said.

“Good Men,” a short film about conspiracies involving the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will open the festival at 7 p.m., followed by “Oxymorons,” a stage play about two brothers that stars Ed Asner and Mark Rydell. The lead actors and director Brian Connors will answer questions after the play.

The film and play will be presented again at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by an 85th birthday celebration for Asner, a multiple Emmy Award winner who starred on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Local band The Pedestrians and country singer/songwriter Ry Bradley are the festival’s musical headliners. Other bands scheduled include Machin, Giselle Woo & the Night Owls, Miracle Dolls and The Chris Daniels Project.

Other participants and attendees will include artist Chuck Hamilton, photographer Kim Zsebe, and actor Robert Loggia and singer Naomi Judd, whose film, “An Evergreen Christmas”, will screen at the festival.

This year, festival organizers will start a scholarship program for arts students. Ticket sales will benefit the scholarship fund, Bell said.

All outdoor events are free. For tickets to indoor events, go to http://shop.ultrastarmovies.com and use code AMFMAB2014.

For more event information, go to http://amfmfest.com or the AMFM Fest Facebook page.

(IMAGE via Shutterstock)