"This is one of the few festivals that actually like filmmakers, unlike most that just screen your film and kick you out right after. I highly recommend this festival...had a lot of fun last year, great venue and organizers with a great host."
- Vlad Nikitin, Director, 'Grand Chinatown Robbery'
STUDIO CITY
The name Studio City became official in 1928, when the Mack Sennett Studios began shooting a two reeler, "The Keystone Cops" and the "Oh-You-Kid Bathing Beauties" along the hillsides of this beautiful area. In 1935 the Mack Sennett Studios became Republic Pictures.

Many famous movie stars got their start in the "Republic Days" including, President Ronald Reagan, James Stewart, Bette Davis, Jack Benny, Tony Curtis, Jack Webb, Joan Fontaine, Jane Wyman, Peter Lawford, Ray Milland, Alfred Hitchcock, Roy Rogers and John Wayne.

And many of these stars made Studio City their home.

Other famous names that have worked at these studios over the years include the following: D.W. Griffith, Mabel Norman, Ben Turpin, Charlie Chaplin, Slim Summerville, Harry Langdon, Edward Everett Horton, W.C. Fields, Gloria Swanson, Marie Prevost, Carole Lombard, Gene Autry, Vaughn Monroe, Barbara Stanwyck, Rory Calhoun, Ward Bond, and Joan Crawford.

Studio City was created by the movie industry. In 1935, 400 employees drew their paychecks each week at Republic Studios. Today, thousands are employed at the various studios and entertainment-related businesses that operate in Studio City.
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Television shows produced at CBS Studios include Mary Tyler Moore Show, Seinfeld, Newhart, Thirtysomething, Dinosaurs, Roseanne, A Different World, My Two Dads, Evening Shade and Twilight Zone.

Today, Studio City continues to be the "City of the Stars," and is home to many entertainment celebrities, including George Clooney,- Zoe Saldana, Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus, Jack Nicholson,David Arquette, Antonio Banderas, Warren Beatty, Jeff Bridges, Will Smith, Ed Asner, and Tom Cruise.
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And, ironically, the festival has never been held in Studio City. The first four years the festival was held at CAP Studio on Ventura in Sherman Oaks - just west of Studio City. And this year, the festival will be held at Laemmle Theater in North Hollywood - just east of Studio City.
