In 2004, while studying advertising in Minneapolis, Devin Halden had the opportunity to work on the set of a locally produced short film. From his first step onto the movie set Halden knew he was hooked. Though this film had well-known talent, producers and director involved, getting the film screened for an audience may not go beyond the wrap party viewing of the film. After contemplating this issue that all independent filmmakers face, Halden began writing and designing the business plan and model for what is now Solstice Universal Film Festival.
In January 2004, Halden set June 21, 2006 as the date to officially launch the inaugural Solstice Film Festival. Believing 2 years would be enough to plan, design, raise the necessary funds and collect enough films for programming, Halden set out on his mission.
Forced to rely solely on selling his vision of Solstice Film Festival, Halden assembled a team of like-minded forward-thinking individuals who shared his passion and drive. Throughout the "dream building" process, the word, "No" and the phrase, "It's way to ambitious to make happen" became very common. Without any kind of budget to speak of, Halden was forced to be the festival's Founder, Executive Director, Designer, Marketer, PR and his small team had to wear any other hat they couldn't afford a head to put it on.
With the incredible help of people who believed in him and he in them, Solstice Film Festival "opened it's doors" on June 21, 2006 to a packed Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, MN.
For 4 years, the Solstice Film Festival team has produced and executed a successful event. Wanting to differentiate from other film festivals and event, Solstice Film Festival has now become Solstice Universal Film Festival and is now an annual event with a annual global reach and audience. We are excited for the future!
The First Annual Solstice Film Festival was an incredible success. We were able to mold a great idea and turn it into an event full of entertainment on cinematic, educational and special event levels. By remaining focused on consistent execution of our strategy, we entertained our festival attendees, strengthened and enhanced our brand, and laid the foundation for an anticipated annual social and cinematic event each year.
The inaugural event saw award winning programing unheard of for first year festival. HBO film held the Midwest Premier of Mini's First Time. The film's writer/director and some cast showed up for the red carpet and official launch of Solstice Film Festival.
Other notable films of the inaugural event were the documentary 10 MPH and the short film Hinkleton.
The second annual Solstice Film Festival took place June 21-24, 2007. Twenty full length features, documentaries and shorts were chosen from over one thousand entries.
The festival opened with the world premiere of Warner Brother's BELIEVERS including red carpet arrivals with the films director and co-writer Daniel Myrick (co-creator/director of The Blair Witch Project), and cast member Johnny Messner (Running Scared, Hostage, The Sweetest Thing, The OC, Friends and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).
The World Premier and the 2007 film programming are what put Solstice on the film festival map. Other notable films screened at the 2007 event include Little Chenier (Winner of 6 awards) and Darius Goeas West, the events closing film that was presented by the filmmakers...who also stuck around after the screening for a great Q&A session with the audience.
The 2008 Solstice Film Festival marked the one-time re-opening of the historic Galtier Theaters in Galtier Plaza of St. Paul, MN. After days of setup and countless bottles of Febreeze, the Galtier Theater doors were re-opened and the lights on the classic marquee blinked again.
The event opened with the Minnesota production, "Killer Movie", a tongue-in-cheek story of a reality television shoot in a northern border town that goes terrifyingly awry . Keeping up with the great programming from 2007, Solstice followed up "Killer Movie" with the Midwest premier of From Within starring Rumor Willis
Closing the 2008 festival was the war documentary "Brothers at War", produced by Jake Rademacher and profiles his two brothers, both soldiers in Iraq, and what they have to endure on a daily basis
In 2009 SFF began laying the foundation for the new repositioning of the future of Solstice Film Festival. We moved the event to Uptown, Minneapolis, closer to our demographic and logistically more beneficial to festival-goers.
For the fourth consecutive year the SFF programing garnered national and international acclaim. Bicycle Dreams, Epicenter, Sledhead and Don McKay were the tent-poles of the event while the Short's program's filled the Suburban World seats, re-affirming that short film feeds the apetite of many independent film hungry moviegoers.
We are excited to turn the page and begin the chapter of the new Solstice Universal Film Festival. Our year-round film programming and Solstice Awards will better champion the art of film and recognize filmmakers from around the world for their incredible talent.
