Letter from the Festival Director

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Dear Festival Patron,

Have we got a festival for you! Sexy. Challenging. Thought-provoking. Funny. It's just the right combination of great films, interesting educational programs, and fest. You know, as in fun. We couldn't have asked for a better lineup of quality films, all of them highlighting different aspects of the independent filmmaking community.

The work for Polar 2007 began many months ago. If you think festival programming is a plum job, know that the first programming meeting for 2007 began in June 2005. Believe it or not, previewing hundreds of films can be a real bear. But since that first get together, the behind-the-scenes work on the festival has been progressing toward our ultimate goal-Polar 2007.

It's only in the next month and during the festival that you will finally get a chance to see the fruits of all our labor. We hope you'll enjoy the films and learn from them as we have. Some of this year's selections are tough, at times even difficult to watch. But they represent such a complex and dynamic portrait of our community that they deserve our support and your attention. We've brought back a few festival favorites. Martini parties are back in the ABSOLUT Pavilion. Doc Saturday returns to the newly renovated University Campus with a collection of wonderful shorts documenting our history and lives with surprising sensitivity and grace. Our Women's Filmmaker Brunch is back and with a makeover.

There are some changes this year as well. Our ticket and VIP pass prices have gone up to reflect the increased costs of films, printing, advertising, and rentals. VIP prices haven't changed since 2003. Ticket prices, which have been substantially subsidized by our corporate sponsors, are seeing their first price increase since 1999.

You'll also notice something called a festival diary. They're little snapshots about life inside the festival from the people who know it best-the volunteers. We hope you'll find them as entertaining and enjoyable to read as we found writing and editing them. The volunteers really are the folks who make these 4 days possible. I hope Polar 2007 is everything you want it to be. It certainly has been our honor and privilege to put this festival together for you.

Erich Schultz

Festival Director