NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Blue Heron International Pictures announced Saturday that its latest Holocaust documentary -- Safe Haven: The Warsaw Zoo -- will screen at the 2009 Daytona Beach Film Festival, and award-winning director Gary Lester will attend the event.
The festival will be held at the Cinematique Theatre in Ormond Beach during the weekend of October 9-11.
Gary Lester of Port Orange is the son of Richard Lester, famed producer and teacher at New Smyrna Beach High School.
According to festival co-director Stephanie Mason-Teague, the award-winning Holocaust documentary will lead off a session of Florida short films, starting 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11.
Safe Haven premiered in August at the West Hollywood International Film Festival in Hollywood, California, where it captured a Special Juror Mention.
Last month, it was honored by the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association with seven Crystal Reel Awards, the state's equivalent of an Academy Award.
This month, a Polish language version is booked to screen at a special event at the Warsaw Zoo. The film has also aired on network television in Israel.
The Daytona Beach Film Festival will be held in The Cinematique Theatre, located at the Book Store Cafe, 410 S. Nova Rd, Ormond Beach, near DB Pickles.
For further information, please contact Mason-Teague by e-mail: stephanie@dbff.org .