INTERNATIONAL FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL OPENS THIS MONTH.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Ten years ago, a group of people sat around a conference table and took up a collection.

Five dollars in the pot meant brochures could be mailed. A larger check meant the phone could be plugged in. And depositing a whole lot of faith and persistence meant that the International Family Film Festival might celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2004.

That investment in wholesome films - free not from controversy, but from gratuitous sex and violence - paid off, despite hurdles of weather, fluctuating attendance, personnel changes and the public's growing fascination with increasingly brutal and suggestive cinema.

Having attracted sponsors such as Nickelodeon and DreamWorks over the last decade, the festival will open April 23 and feature screenings and workshops continuing through April 29 at the Soledad Entertainment Center in Canyon Country.

``We want to create a buzz and make the community feel connected,'' said Chris Shoemaker, one of the founders and festival executive director. ``The vast majority of our films are rated PG or G; they do not contain any gratuitous violence, sex, language or frontal nudity. But these aren't films without an opinion. They aren't boring. They are loaded with conflict to spark the imagination and spark dialogue, to be thought-provoking.''

The opening film will be ``Clipping Adam,'' a coming-of-age film by first-time writer-director Michael A. Picchiottino.

The festival will honor the creative team of DreamWorks' ``Shrek'' with the 2004 Friz Award (named for late animator Friz Freleng), as well as Renaud and Andre Veluzat, owners of Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studios, with the Santa Clarita Film Excellence Award for keeping the valley's rich legacy of filmmaking alive.

More than 60 domestic and foreign films will be screened during the festival. Screenwriters will be celebrated in a showcase where three- minute samplings of writers from age 7 and up will be read by professional actors.

A familiarization tour of Santa Clarita Valley locations will be conducted, and audiences will be given opportunities to learn the intricacies of the film world, from animation to financing, distribution and story pitching. Many of the people involved in producing festival entries will be available for questions or networking at locations throughout the community.

``We got calls from all the major studios after 9-11,'' said Suzanne Shoemaker, the festival development director. ``We sent all of our festival winners and their contact information to the studios at their request because family had become the most important thing and they had nothing on their shelves that focused on families.''

For a complete schedule of screenings and events, or to purchase tickets, visit the festival Web site at www.iffilmfest.org or call [phone].

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com