OPENING CEREMONY
Palace Theater
Friday, April 25 at 7:00pm
Admission $10, $8 for students and seniors

Syracuse native Stephen Baldwin will be a special guest of the festival and will participate in a discussion on his new film after its screening. His filmography includes among many others: The Young Riders (1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Silence of the Lambs (1992), The Usual Suspects (1995), Friends and Lovers (1999), Target (2004), Earthstorm (2006), Dark Storm (2006) and The Harpies (2007)

The Flyboys
(aka Sky Kids) by Rocco DeVilliers (USA)
120 minutes, fiction
Writing:, Jason DeVilliers
Cast: Stephen Baldwin, Jesse James, Reiley McClendon, Tom Sizemore, J. Todd Adams
Editor: Rocco DeVilliers
Cinematographer: Jim Orr
Music: Lisle Moore

Much-relocated junior-high student Kyle attempts to establish permanent roots with his waitress-mom in a burg in the American Southwest. He forges a fast friendship with Jason, a classmate who has been shoved around by neighborhood toughs. Jason, whose Uncle Ed is a pilot, introduces Kyle to the world of flying. Trouble looms when the boys inadvertently become stowaways on a plane bound for Vegas, and the return flight becomes even more interesting when a bomb is placed on board. But there is much more to this eventful story. A 15-minute flashback at the midway point explores the fraternal relationship of two mobsters, main man Angelo and his screw-up kid brother, Silvio. This film, first released as Sky Kids and then retitled Airspeed, has boasted more names than Liz Taylor. By any moniker, it is an impressive action-adventure movie geared for the family trade. An independent feature, it was able to bypass the dumbed-down, focus-group formula product turned out by the Hollywood studios. It might feel a tad testosterone-heavy, but DeVilliers excels at choreographing stunt-heavy action sequences, both on the street and in the air, and he grounded the film with natural performances from his young leads. Forget Alvin and the Chipmunks; this is a kid’s movie that should be the festival’s most satisfying crowd-pleaser.
                                                                                                Review by Bill DeLapp

Writer/Director, Rocco DeVilliers also has edited many films including Crazy Horse (2001) and Pure Race (1995).

18 year old actor, Jesse James’ credits include: Gods and Monsters (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), The Butterfly Effect (2004), The Amityville Horror (2005), Fear of the Dark (2002), and Pearl Harbor (2001).

Reiley McClendon has appeared in such TV shows as: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Just Legal, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and ER. Also in such films as: The Elder Son (2006) and The Nickel Children (2005).

Tom Sizemore has been in almost 100 films including: Protecting the King (2007), Commute (2007), Toxic (2007), Bottom Feeder (2006), Dreamcatcher (2003), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Point Blank (1991).

Sponsors:
Corporate: American Express
Media: WSYR, Time Warner Cable
Community: Syracuse University and LeMoyne College

Tickets can be purchased at the following locations:
Emerald City Video, 3208 Erie Blvd East
Sound Garden, 124 Walton St.
SYRFILM FEST Box Office, 500 South Warren Street (Hotel Syracuse)
or by calling the festival headquarters: 315-443-8826