Actors celebrated at Method Fest

Film festivals have proliferated to the point at which they’ve blurred into an endless stream of obligatory events, each of them looking for a way to stand out among the crowd. What distinguishes the annual Method Fest Independent Film Festival, its director says, is its celebration of the actor.

“We seek out story-driven films with breakout performances,” says fest director Don Franken. “We believe acting and great storytelling are the core ingredients to sensational films. Over the past few years, the emphasis has been on special effects and big budget films.... We really felt there was a tremendous need to refocus on what we feel are the essential qualities of great films.”

After calling Pasadena home for the past four years, the festival is marking its fifth anniversary in beautiful downtown Burbank. (“We are part of the renaissance and redevelopment of the downtown business district,” enthuses Franken.) The festival, which kicks off Friday and concludes a week later with an awards ceremony, had 361 film submissions this year. Last year, “we were at about 240,” says Franken. “We have films from all over the world.

Among the 26 features and 44 short films selected to unspool this year is “Three Days of Rain,” written and directed by Mike Meredith and starring his father “Dandy” Don Meredith, of “Monday Night Football” fame, and Peter Falk. Based on six stories of Anton Chekhov, the film opens the festival at the AMC Media City Center 8. Other noted films are “Dunsmore” with Talia Shire, “I Witness,” starring Jeff Daniels, and “Leo” with Joseph Fiennes and Elisabeth Shue.

No festival should be without its honorees. Oscar-nominated director Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond”), who heads the West Coast branch of the Actors Studio and has been a strong supporter of the festival, will be the recipient of the Method Fest Industry Achievement Award. John Savage “(The Deer Hunter”) is set to receive the Method Fest Indie Support Award and director Henry Jaglom will be honored with the Indie Auteur Director Award for a body of work that covers 35 years of filmmaking. Other events include a block party, acting workshops and industry moderated panels. For ticket information call (800) 965-4827 or visit www.ticketweb.com. A full schedule is available by calling (310) 535-9230 or by going to www.methodfest.com.