EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL 2008 SPECIAL THANKS

We want to express our very sincere thanks to:

- Mayor Phil Hardberger, who has demonstrated his strong support and understanding for the Festival. He is going to be the keynote speaker during the private reception on Monday September 8.

- Dr. Bernard Buecker, Honorary Consul of Germany and Chairman San Antonio Council for International Visitors. Without the assistance and dedication of Dr. Buecker, the not for profit corporation organizing the Festival could not have been created. He is the Secretary of the European Film Festival Corporation.

- The City of San Antonio has taken a leading position in supporting this event in a significant way: The Office of Cultural Affairs with Felix Padrone, Director; San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau with Scott White, Director, in association with their San Antonio Film Commission and its Director Drew Meyer Oaks; Internal Affairs Department with Beth Costello, Director. These Departments support actively the Festival with funds and the Festival is part of the FallArts San Antonio Program.

- The six European participating countries with their Consulates, their Cultural Services and Cultural Institutes. For the past five years they have been faithfully supporting the Festival in supplying funds and films, making this Festival possible. The European countries are: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

- Santikos Theatres. They have been an exceptional partner for the past five years. The Film Festival Corporation pays them as a service supplier but their organization has been extremely generous with their time, their dedication and their superlative skills. They have the best venue in San Antonio by far. The Festival is able to show 24 films four times each on a period of four days at the same venue (the only Festival to do so in the United States) because of the excellent Santikos Theatres logistics. John Santikos has been a faithful supporter for the past five years and without him there will not be a European Film Festival in San Antonio. Meghan Vincent, Director of Communications, has been the visible general co-organizer for Santikos and an invaluable asset for the Festival. Alexis Alsup, Special Events Manager, has had the difficult task to organize the films schedule, complicated because of different foreign formats and ratios.

- The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures with UTSA, replacing The College of Fine and Liberal Arts, and Dr. Marita Nummikoski, Phd Department Chair and Associate Professor of Russian. The Department is in charge of the Discussion Panels (see Discussion Panels tab) and the Films Selection Committee: MaryEllen Garcia, Phd Associate Professor of Spanish; Nancy Membrez, PhD Associate Professor of Spanish; Malgorzata Oleszkiewicz-Peralba, PhD Associate Professor of Spanish; Christopher Wickham, PhD Associate Professor of German; Sheila Johnson, Phd Associate Professor of German; Terri Schroth, M.A. Assistant Professor of French; Joanne McKinnis, Phd Lecturer in French; Sarah Morlang, M.A. Lecturer in French; Molly Zaldivar, PhD Lecturer in Italian.

- Larry Ratliff, film critic with the San Antonio Express-News, has been exceptionally supportive. His knowledge of European cinema is very important to position the Festival within its American context. Organizing this Festival with a very limited budget means that Larry Ratliff, Jim Kiest and others at the San Antonio Express-News are playing a vital role in informing San Antonio about the Festival and consequently in the success of the Festival.

- James Lewis. Owner of J 1 2Designs. He has helped us in a more than efficient way in creating and developing the European Film Festival website.

- Texas Public Radio. Kellie Fichter, Nonprofit Relations Coordinator, has been extremely helpful in designing the messages and very supportive.

- Ralph McKay. He represents the Swiss cinema industry and movie director Thomas Imbach who has three films on the schedule.

- Ross Milloy, President Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council. Besides being a New York Times occasional correspondent Ross Milloy has been a film producer or executive producer for such films as: The Phantom of the Opera (1990 TV), Lord of the Flies (1990), Miss Firecracker (1989), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987 TV), 1918 (1985), Alamo Bay (1985). Alamo Bay (see IMDb.com) was one the first movie made in Texas with a major European director, Louis Malle. It launched the career of Amy Madigan and Ed Harris. Ross is of good advice and a great help to the Festival.

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