March 25, 2007
 
APPY FILM FESTIVAL: D.B. Sweeney, Producer of the ‘Other’ MU Football Film; Beckley Filmmaker/actress Guest Artists for April Festival
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Critic
 
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Here come the filmmakers; no, not a “We Are Marshall” sequel, but a Marshall football film will cap the closing night of the Appalachian Film Festival at the Keith Albee Theatre, April 19-21, 2007.
 
Known as “Dirt Nap” but re-titled “Two Tickets to Paradise,” the film follows three men in their 30s on a road trip to the Orange Bowl, where underdog Marshall University plays for a title. Starring D.B. Sweeney, John McGinley and Paul Hipp, the film has been honored at numerous festivals.
 
Sweeney, who will attend the festival which coincides with the same weekend as the annual Green and White Game wrote, produced, directed and starred in the film. He has also appeared in films such as “Eight Men Out,” “Gardens of Stone,” “Spawn” and such TV series as “CSI Crime Scene Investigation,” “Life as We Know It,” and “Jericho.”
 

Dani Englander
Premiering Thursday, April 19, will be Dani Englander’s newest film, “Two Fireflies,” in which she plays Claire, a young woman who bonds in friendship with an older man after both experience personal losses. Englander’s feature films include “Southern Gothic,” “Jack of Clubs,” “Flesh Remembers,” Called In,” and “Carrots and Onions,” but may be best known as the hostess of “Techknowledge” on the Discovery Channel.
 
Englander, who grew up in Beckley, W.Va., ventured into “show business” first as part owner of a small cinema in Rainelle with her brothers, Brian and Curtis McCall. She has also appeared in commercials and print ads including one’s for West Virginia Tourism , Procter & Gamble and the Red Cross.
 
She currently works in development and distribution and will present a workshop on that phase of the film marketing process.
 
The writer/director of “Two Fireflies,” Adam Meyer will accompany Englander. Meyer has written over 50 hours of programming on Fox, National Geographic, Discovery , CBS and Court TV. His first novel, “The Last Domino” was released by Putnam in 2005. He recently completed a documentary on the Aryan Brotherhood for Discovery. He is working on his next book, “When She’s Gone” and a screenplay.
 
In addition, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will make a cameo appearance at the Saturday night banquet.
 
The festival highlights independent films from features and shorts to documentaries and music videos made by filmmakers in the states that make up Appalachia.
 
For more information visit: http://www.appyfilmfest.com.