PRESS 2022
For Press Inquiries, please email: pearl@centrefilm.org
10/31/2022
Grab the popcorn. Centre Film Festival returns with live and virtual film screenings
The Centre Film Festival is back with live film screenings, masterclasses and panel discussions with directors. The films will feature stories from around the world, like the Iranian film “Holy Spider” and local figures, like “Of Medicine and Miracles” which is centered on the Emily Whitehead Foundation and story.
10/31/2022
Centre Film Festival Premier
It’s the fourth annual Centre Film Festival and the event brings prestigious films to the area to inspire filmmakers and the audience. Attendees got the full red carpet experience, Anna Meyer was at the premier.
10/29/2022
The girl whose T cells beat cancer
When Emily Whitehead was six years old, she became the first child ever to receive genetically-modified T cells, an experimental treatment for her leukemia. It cured her, and helped launch the field of cellular medicine. “Sunday Morning” contributor Kelefa Sanneh talks with Emily, and her parents, Kari and Tom Whitehead, about how they defeated her cancer; and with Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a leading cancer specialist and author of the new book, “The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human.”
10/29/2022
A Red Carpet Homecoming
A highlight of the fourth annual Centre Film Festival, kicking off next week in State College and Philipsburg, Pa., is the return to Happy Valley of Stan Lathan, who will be honored for a visionary 50-year career as a director, producer, and Hollywood trailblazer.
10/27/2022
Centre Film Festival showcases local films with global impact, and global films that hit close to home
The fourth annual Centre Film Festival, which runs from October 31-November 6, 2022, will feature some of the most important and talked about films of the year. Held at the State Theatre in State College and Philipsburg’s historical Rowland Theatre, the festival will tell stories through feature films, documentaries, short films and experimental narrative.
10/26/2022
Students help drive ongoing success of popular Centre Film Festival
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Motivated and passionate faculty and community members brought the Centre Film Festival to life and have directed its growth from infancy through a pandemic and to a multi-platform event that has increased its accessibility and popularity.
10/26/2022
Centre Film Festival to showcase films with local and global impacts, including Whitehead Family’s medical miracle
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — The 2022 Centre Film Festival will feature some of the most important and most talked about films of the year. This year’s selection of feature films, documentaries, fictional shorts, experimental narratives, and more, will screen at the State Theatre in State College and in Phillipsburg’s historical Rowland Theatre from October 31, 2022 to November 6, 2022.
Studio 814’s Rebecca Petner sits down with artistic director, filmmaker, and professor in Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications, Pearl Gluck, to talk about some of the films that will be featured at the annual film festival.
10/19/2022
Festival to honor Penn State alumnus Stan Lathan with Lifetime Achievement Award
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Penn State alumnus who has crafted a legendary and impactful career in film and television production will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award as the fourth annual Centre Film Festival concludes Nov. 6 at the State Theatre in downtown State College.
Stan Lathan, who grew up in West Philadelphia and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University in 1967, has created and directed everything from groundbreaking public affairs programming to top-ranked network sitcoms and films. He created “Def Comedy Jam” for HBO — which remains one of the most influential artistic projects ever on TV, and perhaps culture in general.
10/18/2022
Penn State students collaborate on 2022 Centre Film Festival design, promotion
From hours in the lab to time spent in studio classes, Qinci (Cynthia) Zhang [this year’s film festival poster artist!] sets an example for how students can pursue their passions outside of their intended majors.
After moving from China, Zhang (senior-science) attended Penn State with the intention of majoring in forensic science. However, during her junior year, she realized she wanted to focus on art.
10/13/2022
Annual festival to showcase more than 50 films
This year’s selection of feature films, documentaries, fictional shorts, experimental narratives and more, will screen at the State Theatre in State College and in Phillipsburg’s historical Rowland Theatre from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6.
The lineup includes, among others, Denmark-based Iranian director Ali Abassi’s crime thriller, “Holy Spider,” a contender for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Oscars; the Ukrainian drama, “Klondike,” Ukraine’s submission for the Academy Awards and winner of the Cinema Dramatic Competition for directing at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival; and many more excellent films from around the world, the country and the state of Pennsylvania.
10/10/2022
2022 Centre Film Festival to feature films in State College, Philipsburg
“The Centre Film Festival keeps growing every year! The Rowland Theatre is excited to be the initial spark of this festival, which is putting Philipsburg on the map for filmmakers and their films,” says Rebecca Inlow of the Rowland Theatre.
“We hope our local community takes advantage of this chance to see potential Oscar nominees, meet the filmmakers, and watch films, some of which featuring local stories.” Films such as Art and Pep (Art, who founded the first gay bar in Chicago is originally from DuBois) and Of Medicine and Miracles (the Emily Whitehead story) feature native central Pensylvanians. “It’s so exciting to have a festival of this caliber in our own backyard, telling our own stories!”
10/7/2022
Centre Film Festival returns featuring anticipated and important films
“We want films with global themes that are also local, that will spark conversations among central Pennsylvania’s intergenerational, multidimensional audiences,” said Gluck, the Donald P. Bellisario Career Advancement Professor in the Department of Film Production. “This year’s films speak to us about what’s going on in the world.
“The films address important issues like women’s rights, climate change, migration, incarceration, race, gender and sexual orientation. Seeing the impact of those issues through a filmmaker’s lens makes them more immediate.”