The “15 Minutes of Fame Festival of Shorts” in Palm Bay on July 18 & 19 will have a special visitor. Janice Kennedy, whose screenplay for “Man. Woman. Blackbird.” won the “Best Screenplay” award, is coming from Los Angeles for the event.

The honor from “15 Minutes of Fame” is among several writing awards Kennedy has won this year, including “Best TV Pilot” from the 2009 Cinema City International Film Festival in Los Angeles for “CROSSROADS,” and a bronze award for her feature script, “The Last Hanging in Pike County,” from the 2009 Charleston International Film Festival.

The “15 Minutes of Fame” festival had entries from across the country and around the world, including Germany, Spain, Canada, the UK and Australia. “To be chosen from an array of such talented international writers is a special honor,” says Kennedy. “That’s why Entered Apprentice Pictures, the producers of “Man. Woman. Blackbird.,” decided it was important for me to be part of the ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ celebration.”

The “15 Minutes of Fame Festival of Shorts” is the brainchild of Ray and Migdalia Etheridge of Golden West Films in Palm Bay. The husband-and-wife filmmakers say they wanted to shine a spotlight on short films and the talented people who make them. Each film in the festival has a running time of 15 minutes or less.

In addition to the Best Screenplay honor given to “Man. Woman. Blackbird.,” other award winners include “Red Letter” (the UK) for Best Director; “Mooney” (Ireland) for Best Drama; “Caught in Paint” (Kansas) for Best Documentary; “Noemie” (Canada) for Best Horror; and “Being Handy” (Australia) for Best Editing.

Admission is free for the July 18-19 festival, but you must RSVP by email to rayandmigdalia@yahoo.com. The event will be held at the Palm Bay Quality
Inn, beginning at 2:30pm. The films have not been rated and viewer discretion is advised. For more information, go to www.15minutefilmfest.com

For more on the film “Man. Woman. Blackbird.,” go to www.eapfilm.com.

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