This weekend, the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) hosts the Third Annual Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation in Dayton, Ohio. Five screenings over two days will celebrate the diverse and colorful world of aviation as depicted through invited independent documentaries, a feature film, and a new public television series. Each project will be presented by a filmmaker closely associated with its production, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.
Reel Stuff 3, as it is also known, is open to the public with all ticket and merchandise proceeds benefiting the Dayton-based non-profit NAHF Learning Center and its education programs. The NAHF is a Congressionally chartered 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to honoring America’s outstanding air and space pioneers.
Oscar-winning actor, pilot, and 2006 NAHF enshrinee Cliff Robertson is serving as Reel Stuff 3’s Honorary Chairman and will host an opening night welcoming reception at the Engineer’s Club of Dayton Friday, Nov. 5. A screening of the acclaimed documentary, Flyabout, will follow the reception, presented by its director/producer, Monika Petrillo.
Flyabout is the personal story of Monika, who earns her pilot’s license and inspires her father to do the same. Together with him, she follows her dream to circumnavigate the Australian continent. Monika’s introduction to the Aboriginal tradition of a “walkabout” brings on the realization that piloting the small plane won’t be the hardest part of an already challenging trip.
The next day, Saturday, Nov. 6, four more projects and films will be screened at the Dayton Convention Center theatre. They are:
- The First Aviation Documentary – The Wright Brothers and the First Military Airplane, presented by historian and producer Paul Glenshaw. A scholarly examination of rare, collected documentary footage and images of the Wright Brothers aerial demonstrations at Fort Myer, Virginia in 1909.
- Breaking Through the Clouds: The First Women’s National Air Derby, presented by producer Heather Taylor. An in-depth documentary on the historic first-ever women’s air race, held in 1929 and featuring such aviation pioneers as Amelia Earhart, Pancho Barnes and Louise Thaden.
- The Restorers, a new public television series presented by Adam White, Emmy-winning creator and cinematographer of the 2004 documentary of the same name. White will present a sneak peek from an episode-in-progress chronicling vintage aircraft and those that keep them flying, filmed in high-definition format.
- Flight of the Intruder, the 1991 feature film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen Coonts, directed by John Milius. Famed cinematographer, pilot, and 2010 NAHF enshrinee Clay Lacy was originally slated to present but recently had to cancel due to a schedule conflict. Presenter to-be-announced.
Admission at the door to each screening is $10 per adult, $5 per student with valid college ID or aged 17 and under. A “full festival pass,” good for admission to all five screenings, is available for $25 per person. The Saturday evening screening of Flight of the Intruder is preceded by a free popcorn reception and silent auction in the lobby from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information: ReelStuffFilmFest.com or 937-256-0944 x16
