El Paso Media Fest to bring 'The Room' actor Greg Sestero

Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times
·2 min read
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Media Fest, a three-day event that focuses on promoting local films and educating filmmakers, will be Friday through Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema East El Paso, 12351 Pellicano Drive.

Chris Hanna, owner of El Paso film company ZGN Productions, said the festival will feature about 16 filmmakers selected from all over the world. The festival has gotten more interest as a result of positive reviews within the film festival industry. The festival has been among the 100 top film festivals for the past two years, he said.

"For the community and the arts and film community, it means not only being able to watch films that are made locally and regionally but from all over the world and they can also discover what's trending and apply that to local filmmaking," Hanna said.

Greg Sestero is an actor and writer who starred in the film "The Room" in 2003. He also wrote a book titled "The Disaster Artist," chronicling his experience making the film.
Greg Sestero is an actor and writer who starred in the film "The Room" in 2003. He also wrote a book titled "The Disaster Artist," chronicling his experience making the film.

Aside from the festival, Hanna is working on a distribution deal for his documentary "Now or Never: A Tony RomoStory," featuring Tony Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

Daniel Valdez, who also is involved in the festival, is the co-founder of Undergrads College Mindset Academy and a teacher at Parkland High School.

The festival features several educational panels relating to cinematography, editing and sound design, among other topics. Sessions will include Business of Film, Cinematography: Inside the Shot, The Magic of Editing, It's an Actor's Life for Me, and Don't Forget About the Sound.

The festival also will include an appearance and session led by Greg Sestero, the actor and writer who starred in the notorious film "The Room" in 2003. He also wrote a book titled "The Disaster Artist," chronicling his experience making the film and working with its enigmatic director Tommy Wiseau. In February 2014, the book was optioned to be made into a feature film.

Sestero's talk will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, along with a showing of "The Christmas Tapes."

Another guest will be Kent Kirkpatrick, an actor, writer and producer who acted in "Better Call Saul," "Midnight Texas" and "The Last Stand."

The El Paso Media Fest Awards and Closing Night Party will be from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse East.

Tickets, ranging from $20 to $70, are available online through EventBrite.

The 2023 Festival Program can be found at https://elpasomediafest.com/2023-program.html

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150, mcortes@elpasotimes.com and @EPTMaria on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Media Fest to feature 'The Room' actor Greg Sestero