Karen Allen, Mark Ciardi, Candy Clark, Christian Duguay, Melora Hardin, Wendie Malick, Pamela Poitier, and Talia Shire join SAFF Honorary Advisory Board

The Saint Augustine Film Festival is proud to announce the creation of our Honorary Advisory Board comprised of industry luminaries across the nation and abroad.  The Board will advise SAFF on new films and filmmakers on an informal basis.  We look forward to bringing back these incredible talents.

Karen Allen, Chair

Perhaps best known for playing opposite Harrison Ford in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK,

Karen burst onto the scene with ANIMAL HOUSE.  Other credits include STARMAN, SCROOGED, THE PERFECT STORM and A YEAR BY THE SEA.  Karen won the Saturn Award for Best Actress (RAIDERS…) was nominated  again (STARMAN opposite Jeff Bridges) and for a Best Female Lead Independent Spirit Award for COLEWELL, which she brought to SAFF.  Karen has been to SAFF three times and is presently developing a film, THE BATTING CAGE (adapted from the play by Joan Ackerman) to be shot here.

Mark Ciardi

Mark went right from college to pitching in the major leagues with the Milwaukee

Brewers.  Following an injury, he retired as an athlete and became a film producer

with a focus on sports.  He produced AMERICAN UNDERDOG, THE ROOKIE, SECRETARIAT, MILLION DOLLAR ARM, INVINCIBLE and THE MIRACLE SEASON.  Mark came to SAFF with his film THE SENIOR which starred Mary Stuart Masterson and Michael Chiklis.

Candy Clark

Candy originally came to Hollywood as an up and coming model. Then she

auditioned for George Lucas to co-star opposite Ron Howard and Charles Martin Smith in AMERICAN GRAFFITI for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.  Among her other 120 credits THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH .(opposite David Bowie) ZODIAC and BLUE THUNDER (opposite Roy Schneider and Daniel Stern, and directed by John Badham of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER). Candy came to SAFF with a retro screening of …GRAFFITI.

Christian Duguay

Film Director Christian Duguay was born in Quebec, and graduated from

Concordia University in film.  His graduation film won him Best Cinematography Award at the Canadian Student Awards.  He parlayed that distinction into becoming a professional cinematographer – which led him to become adept in all technical aspects of filmmaking. He then ascended to become a Television and Motion Picture Director.  He directed Donald Sutherland and Mira Sovino in HUMAN TRAFFICKING, Peter Weller in SCREAMERS, Wesley Snipes, Sutherland and Anne Archer in the ART OF WAR. His film RIDE ABOVE about a young girl that triumphs over her paralysis to win a horse race was the standout film of SAFF2022.  Among his many films is SANT’AGOSTINO (which seems appropriate).  He has been nominated for three Emmys.

Melora Hardin

Best known as Jan in TV’s The Office, Melora has 121 films under her belt including 27

DRESSES, HANNAH MONTANA, THE ROCKETEER, MR. MONK’S LAST CASE, Transparent (for which she earned a primetime Emmy nomination), The Love Boat, Quincy M.E., Little House on the Prairie, The Bold Type and The Hot Chick.  She was originally cast in BACK TO THE FUTURE as Lorraine opposite Eric Stoltz’s Marty, but when Stoltz was replaced by Michael J. Fox, the role of Lorraine went to a shorter Lea Thompson. She came to SAFF with her one-person film GOLDEN VANITY.

Wendie Malick

Wendie is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. Her credits include THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, RACING

STRIPES, and CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC and as a regular on TV’s Just Shoot Me and Hot in Cleveland.  She has over 200 other appearances on shows including Seinfeld, Frazier, Night Court, Star Trek, Family Guy and Modern Family.  Her TV work earned her two primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.  Wendie came here with the film 7000 MILES in which she played Amelia Earhart.

Pamela Poitier

The daughter of Sidney Poitier, Pamela has 20 credits including THE JACKAL, STIR CRAZY and AIR AMERICA.  Pamela is the recipient of the Adelco Theatre Award and

has appeared on Broadway in The Gospel of Colonus with Morgan Freeman.  She has been to SAFF twice, with the first time for Bo Boudart’s film “Islands of Life”.   The film features Pamela’s off the grid living in Cat Island, Bahamas, the childhood home of her dad.  She screened the film at R.B. Hunt Elementary and answered interesting questions from the students.  Pamela founded the Rake and Scrape Music Festival and it is her dream to build The Sir Sidney Poitier School of the Arts, Sciences and Humanities on Cat Island.

Talia Shire

Talia is best known as Adrianne in all the ROCKY films, and as Connie Corleone in all

the GODFATHER films.  She has appeared in nearly 100 films.  Her brother is Francis Ford Coppola and she is mom to Robert Schwartzman (THE LAST SHOWGIRL), Jason Schwartzman (RUSHMORE, DARJELING EXPRESS) and aunt to Nicolas Cage and Sophia Coppola.  For her work in The Godfather Part II and Rocky, Shire was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively, and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in Rocky. She has been to SAFF twice.

Photos from Internet Movie Data Base aka IMDB.