The first annual OPTIMA Ultimate Film Festival is fast approaching. If you wanted to submit a film to it, well, you missed your chance. There’s always next year! Anyway, here’s the trailer for this year’s festival:
The inaugural festival included two categories of films: short form and action cam. The submitted films include entries from the following:
Short Form Films
- Derric Curran – A chronicle of Will Tucker’s love for Chevys, blues and the rich history of each
- Will Gentile – Heavy Metal Concepts encourages viewers to “embrace the journey”
- Bryant Lambert – The journey and subsequent title defense of Jerett Brooks’ 2014 TORC Pro Lite Championship
- Taylor McGhorant – Taylor explains why his car is for more than just racing, it’s also a vehicle for life’s greatest experiences
- Scott Payton – Farks Supercars and American Racing Headers’ story encapsulates the joy, hard work and occasional disappointments that go with a racing title
- Robert Pitard – SmokinStangs stays true to their name with Mustangs on Mustangs on Mustangs
- Sean Rad – Weistec Engineering showcases their products built by adrenaline junkies for adrenaline junkies
- Matt Sanders – A Russian kingpin attempts to become a legend by taking down two of moto’s finest
- Dom Tucci – A 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback’s journey starting from the garage
Action Cam Films
- Taylor Best – A track-level perspective of OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car
- Ben Cissell – In Ben’s words, “no music, no fancy graphics, just vintage racing”
- Chris Gray – This shop gives an exclusive look at the ultimate roadster
- Dom Tucci – A fun take on every enthusiast’s favorite: donuts
- Ryan Tuerck – Tuerck puts you in the driver’s seat for a full-speed drifting experience
- Mike Turnbull – A first person view of every intense turn, jump and crash on the course
- Jordan Unternaher – A drone provides the incredible aerial view of super-trucks at work
- Johnny Wilkinson – A thrilling, behind-the-scenes look at rock-crawling’s dips, bumps and twists
According to Cam Douglass, marketing director at OPTIMA Batteries, “We were thrilled by the incredible submissions we received, from edge-of-your-seat action to heartwarming victory stories. These films truly stood out as exceptional, and we can’t wait to see which two come out on top at the final event during SEMA.”
The films will be screened at a special event On November 5 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. If you’re attending SEMA, free tickets will be available in limited quantities at the OPTIMA Batteries booth (#22755). The winning film in each category will be featured in a special one-hour segment by MAVTV in 2016.
“Each of the finalists’ films tells a different story about the performance automotive world, and it’s going to be phenomenal to see them up on the big screen,” says David Freiburger of The Enthusiast Network’s automotive adventure show, Roadkill. “I can’t wait to feel the energy in the room and announce the two winners in Vegas.”
OPTIMA is hoping to use the excitement and enthusiasm from this event to expand the program to other film festival events in 2016. They plan to announce more details of this venture at the screening. Visit OPTIMA on Facebook and Twitter to get more details.