PAUL DAVIDS TO CHAIR NEW PARANORMAL FILM FESTIVAL

ANGEL FIRE, NM -- Paranormal film makers can breathe a sigh of relief. Even as the reins of the Laughlin, NV International UFO Convention (IUFOC) -- sans film festival -- are being handed from Bob Brown to Open Minds Productions in Phoenix, AZ, a new annual independent paranormal film festival will debut in September at the 2010 Paranormal Symposium in Angel Fire, NM.

Noted film producer, writer, and director Paul Davids has agreed to chair the new festival, coordinating with Symposium parent organization Alliance Studying Paranormal Experiences (ASPE). Davids, who served in 2008 and 2009 as Chairman of the EBE Awards Film Festival at the IUFOC, is well known for controversial films which often include paranormal themes, including the 1994 Golden Globe nominee "Roswell," starring Martin Sheen, Kyle Maclachlan and Dwight Yoakam. Other Davids films popular with paranormal buffs include "Timothy Leary's Dead," "Starry Night," "The Artist and the Shaman," and "The Sci-Fi Boys," which won the Saturn Award as Best DVD of 2006. Davids is currently in production on a feature documentary called "Curtain Calls: The Life After Death Project," and he recently completed a new feature film, "Before We Say Goodbye," that deals in part with the miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The ASPE film festival will honor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by presenting SIR ARTHUR AWARDS to winning submissions. Although best known for creating the fictional character Sherlock Holmes, Doyle's interest in spiritualism and the paranormal is legendary. He had issues with the Catholicism he was taught it in childhood, and sought spiritual resolution elsewhere as an adult. Doyle was a member of the British Society for Psychical Research, authored a number of articles and books with paranormal themes, and promoted spiritualism in public lectures.

"I'm delighted to participate in the launch of this new film festival," said Davids. "Since this is the last year for the IUFOC film festival, the new ASPE event will provide a much-needed venue to introduce and salute the efforts of filmmakers dealing with all types of paranormal themes."

Before he began producing and directing his own films, Davids co-wrote six "Star Wars" sequel novels (with Hollace Davids) for Lucasfilm and Bantam Books, including the award-winning Mission from Mount Yoda. Davids began his career in film and television in 1985 as a writer and production coordinator of the original "Transformers" television series for Marvel Productions.

Film festival entry information and applications, along with Symposium registration information, will be available April 1 on the ASPE website (http://www.aspefiles.org/). Questions and volunteer applications may be addressed to info@aspefiles.org.