Audio Video News

The weekend of June 5-8 promises to be a busy one for high-definition fans on the West Coast. Home Entertainment Expo 2003 takes place during those days at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, simultaneously with this year's HDFEST at the Los Angeles Film School.

HDFEST, "the world's only high-definition film festival," is shaping up as the biggest and best in the event's four-year history. Sponsored in part by the LA Film School, the festival will feature 40 films created using high-definition technology, all of them to be screened at the school's 350-seat high-definition theatre at 6363 Sunset Boulevard.

The screenings will include feature films, shorts, commercials, music videos, and documentaries, all projected at HD resolution. Entries are from a diverse number of countries, including Canada, England, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Russia, the United States, and others. For many of them, HDFEST will be their first American screening as well as their high-definition world premieres. A panel of expert judges will vote to award their favorites in categories such as "Best High-Definition Feature," "Best High-Definition Cinematography," and "Best High-Definition Short." The event will also feature panel discussions on various aspects of high-def film productions.

HDFEST's Los Angeles event is part of the HDFEST 2002–2003 World Tour, which visited London and Paris in 2002, and will visit New York and Toronto in 2003. Founded to promote the usage of high-definition technology among filmmakers, in 2000 HDFEST became the only high-definition film festival in the world, and hosted the first high-definition expo which showcased newly emerging high-definition technology. HDFEST 2003 will be the largest high-definition event ever to take place in the LA area, according to festival promoters.

Admission to the Los Angeles event is free to the public with advance registration, via the event's website or by calling 773-782-9790.