The Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation will take place in Dayton April 11-14. The cinematic celebration of flight also serves as the public grand re-opening of the Air Force Museum’s 400-seat giant-screen theater, currently undergoing an $800,000 renovation.
The First Annual Reel Stuff of Aviation offers a diverse lineup of flight-related feature films, documentaries, and broadcast programming, each presented by a filmmaker or historian associated with its production. An audience question-and-answer session with the filmmaker will follow each showing.
Among the 10 screenings confirmed will be the Midwest premier of First in Flight, producer Tara Tucker and director Brandon Hess’s Wright Brothers dramatization; the first film to win a Best Picture Oscar, the late William Wellman’s 1927 silent classic, Wings, a digitally re-mastered version presented by his son, actor and historian William Wellman, Jr.; and Paramount Pictures’ Top Gun 3D, presented by the film’s aerial cinematographer, Clay Lacy, and Barry Sandrew, founder and CCO/CTO of Legend3D, which recently converted the 1986 blockbuster film into spectacular high-definition, giant-screen 3D format.
Additionally, producer Catherine Wyler will present her 1990 Warner Brothers film, The Memphis Belle, as well as the acclaimed documentary of the same name by her late father, Oscar winning director William Wyler, which he produced during World War II. The original Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress featured aircraft in Wyler’s 1944 film is currently at the National Museum of the United States Air Force undergoing a full restoration.
Patrons of Reel Stuff Film Festival will be among the first to enjoy a new state-of-the-art theater experience featuring a digital image projection system, an amped up 7.1 surround sound system with 20 speakers, and a towering new six-story screen. One of only a handful of theaters nationwide with this new technology, other improvements festival goers will notice include new seats, carpeting and a new stage.
“We’ve put together an unforgettable weekend, not only for aviation buffs and students of history, but also anyone who loves the art of the cinema or is fascinated by learning the technical, ‘behind-the-scenes’ aspect of filmmaking,” said Mary Bruggeman, Chief of Theatre Operations for the AFMF. “It’s a rare opportunity to meet and mingle with the talented filmmakers responsible for some of our favorite aviation movies, and get a sneak-peak at some new projects being shared for the first time.”
Tickets and passes will go on sale beginning Feb, 15, available in advance by contacting theatre@afmuseum.com or by calling 937- 253-4629. General admission tickets for individual daytime screenings are $8 per person, and $15 per person for evening shows. Full day discount passes, good for all screenings on that day, are also available; $35 for Friday, $45 for Saturday, and $25 for Sunday. Full Festival passes are available for $90, providing admission for one person to each screening on Friday through Sunday, a savings of more than $25 over general admission prices.
For more information: AirForceMuseum.com or ReelStuffFilmFest.com
