Arlington, Texas has been on the map for as long as anyone can remember. So much so, that an introduction is almost redundant for those who have followed The Cowboys, Rangers and the world famous Six Flags Theme Park. What the community may not be as familiar with is the vast resource of Cultural Arts which is deeply rooted in optimism and diversity. The Frame4Frame Festival was created specifically to bring different backgrounds and cultures together and to escape divisiveness.
To bring recognition to the city while expanding the presence of cultural programs based on their own merit would be an even greater accomplishment. The Frame4Frame Inaugural Film Festival began with a roundtable that comprised of James Hawthorne, the festival’s Director and Chris Hightower, the Executive Director of Arlington Museum of Art fielding questions about how their dreams of getting the City of Arlington to be recognized all over the world as an Artist’s oasis for creativity and expression. What began as a small venture to gain funding for particular projects grew into a grant-based collaboration whose basic motive is to draw attention to the untapped resource of availability to the arts community in Arlington, Texas and throughout other communities that may not realize the vast potential that is readily available to those who seek it. While both collaborators admit they don’t have strong film backgrounds, they both have great interests in the expansion of Arts within the community and they both have a love of the arts that has motivated them to seek a higher artistic plateau which they believe the community deserves. The process that they chose to seek out participants in the festival was guided by longtime members of the Arlington Film Society and Independent Film Consultants such as Bart Weiss, Andy Anderson, David Small and Ya’Ke Smith.
The Festival, running September 15-18 offers music, films, art and various opportunities to meet and exchange dialogue with great Filmmakers, musicians and Artists from across the State of Texas who offer passion-filled artistic expression in all that they do. The City of Arlington should be proud and more than willing to support this unchartered event!
