Friars Club Comedy Film Festival Announces 2010 Lineup

NEW YORK, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival (FCCFF) has announced the lineup for its second annual event, which will take place September 23 to October 1 in New York City. More than 30 films will be screened during the festival, which this year leads up to the Friars Club Roast of director, writer and producer Quentin Tarantino.

The festival will be a week-long celebration of comedy film, presented by the legendary Friars Club. Along with special screenings of comedy classics and industry-focused panel discussions, the festival will highlight Spotlight Films -- some of the best and brightest new comedies -- along with Competition Features and Shorts that were selected from submissions received from around the world. New this year, the festival will screen short films created by the winners of FrISC, the inaugural Friars Club Improv + Sketch Competition. Also during the week's celebration, the Friars Club will present Jerry Lewis with a Lifetime Achievement award.

The films featured in this year's festival represent a wide spectrum of comedy ranging from the world premiere of Brother's Justice from Dax Shepard and David Palmer to the documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story, which celebrates the life of one of the most influential forces on today's comedians. The FCCFF will also include festival award-winning comedies like Skeletons (2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival; best new British feature) and Tiny Furniture (2010 SXSW Festival; best feature), along with documentaries that explore the world of comedy itself such as Dumbstruck, an inside look a the world of ventriloquism, and Just Like Us, which looks at humor in the Arab world. A highlight of this year's shorts program will be The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger, a children's fable from renowned animator Bill Plympton. The films to be screened at the 2010 Friars Club Comedy Film Festival are:

"It's great to bring the festival back for a second year with such a diverse cross section of comedy films," says Charlie Prince, executive director of the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival. "Comedy, in all forms, is intrinsic to the Friars Club, and we're thrilled to provide a platform for new talent as well as a venue for established comedy filmmakers."

Following the success of the inaugural festival in 2009 in which the Academy Award-nominated A Serious Man kicked-off the proceedings, this year's event will host the launch of the Friars Film Society. Open to the public, there are four levels of membership ranging from $35 to $500.

Proceeds from the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival will benefit the Friars Foundation. For more information on the 2010 festival, including the schedule of events and how to purchase tickets, visit www.friarsclub.com/filmfestival.

About The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival

The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival was launched in 2009 to showcase the best and funniest comedy films from around the world. Introduced to fill a void in the film festival world when it comes to comedy, the four‐day festival celebrates comedy and independent filmmakers, featuring the best in comedy including feature films, shorts and panel discussions. In its debut year, the festival featured the U.S. premiere of the Coen brothers' Academy Award nominated film A Serious Man.

About The Friars Club

The Friars Club is the legendary show business institution home to comedians, musicians, actors, producers and celebrities from all walks of entertainment. Since their inception in 1904 the Friars have become famous for their roasts where they choose an individual and rake his or her ego over the coals with their sarcastic wit and sharp‐tongued barbs. Their clubhouse, a six-story Renaissance mansion located in New York City's mid-town area, has been the Friars headquarters for half a century, offering a gathering place for members to meet, greet and strut their jokes. The Friars are always in motion producing various comedy and musical in-house events as well as a dedication to charitable giving through their own charities and Foundation.

About The Friars Foundation

The Friars Foundation was established in 1977 as the charitable arm of the Friars Club. It is a publicly supported Foundation and is the conduit through which the Friars accomplish one of its major goals: the betterment of our society, particularly in the area of the performing arts. Their mission is to help small performing arts groups create excellent innovative and affordable programs for the enrichment, education, and enjoyment of diverse audiences and participants. The Foundation also helps prepare the next generation of performers and musical artists through scholarship programs for students studying the performing arts.

SOURCE The Friars Club