World’s First-Ever Flying Robot Film Festival Descends on SF
The inaugural Flying Robot International Film Festival (FRiFF) comes to San Francisco on Thursday, November 19 at Roxie Theatre, the longest continuously operated cinema in the country.
This global drone film festival, founded by Eddie Codel, aims to showcase compelling stories from an aerial perspective. Awards for films span six categories: Drones for Good, I Made That!, LOL WTF, Cinematic, Student Films, and Aerial Sports.
The festival’s overall objective is to remove the stigma associated with drones being hazardous by displaying the ingenuity and creativity of this skyrocketing and passionate community. “With the proliferation of drones today, there’s just a ton of people making great content,” says Codel. “I felt like there needed to be a place to celebrate that.”
More than 300 aerial film enthusiasts are expected to attend. In addition, top sponsors such as 3DR, Parrot, FreeSkies, and Horizon Hobby, will be on hand to demonstrate the latest developments in drone technology at the exhibition hall. Check out a few clips below from two showcase films.
A diverse panel of 15 judges including Veronica Belmont, who hosts Engadget’s Dear Veronica; Mike Senese from Make: Magazine, and Terrence Williams from AerialSkyLab and 3DR, recently selected the top 18 finalists whose short films will be screened at the festival. Films that are graduating from the Internet to the big screen, where over $10,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded, include Quinn Muller’s “Electric Africa” and PRENAV’s “Hello World.”
With a focus on independent film making, Eddie Codel’s goal was to make FRiFF accessible to as many drone enthusiasts as possible. He kept submission fees low ($5 – $10 for up to two films, free for students) and is selling tickets to the festival for $15 a piece, which can be purchased here. For more information, visit the event’s website.
