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EW SHOW DAILY 6 Monday, May 9, 2016 ASCRS News Today by Liz Hillman EyeWorld Staff Writer ASCRS 34th annual Film Festival to feature a "distinctly New Orleans flavor" Expect local music, door prizes, and features of award-winning ophthalmic films E ducational, entertaining, and with a certain amount of style and class. This is how Richard Hoffman, MD, Eugene, Oregon, described the 34th annual Film Festival. This year, Dr. Hoffman, chairing the event for the third time, will add a somewhat different flare to what is usually a Hollywood vibe of black ties, evening gowns, and Oscar-like statues. "I'm looking forward to having the event in New Orleans, which is where I did my medical school and residency training," Dr. Hoffman said. "I am hoping to incorporate some local food and music in the event to give this year's festival a distinctly New Orleans flavor." The Film Festival, taking place today with a reception running from 4:45–5:15 p.m. followed by the ceremony from 5:15–6:45 p.m., will award ophthalmic filmmakers for excellence in 10 categories: Cataract Complications, Cataract/Implant Surgery, Glaucoma, In-house Pro- ductions, Instruments/Devices/IOLs, New Producer, New Techniques, Quality Teaching, Refractive/Corneal Surgery, and Special Interest. As in past years, attendees will have the opportunity to win door prizes. Several weeks ahead of the meeting, 9 judges performed a pre- liminary review of all submissions, scoring them on various criteria including scientific content, educa- tional value, originality, and artistic effect. The top 40–50 films were then reviewed onsite at the meet- ing with the entire group of judges having what Dr. Hoffman called "heated discussions." In addition to Dr. Hoffman, the judges include David Hardten, MD, Minneapolis; Elizabeth Hofmeister, MD, San Diego; Michael Taravella, MD, Denver; Spencer Thornton, MD, Nashville, Tennessee; Susan MacDonald, MD, Peabody, Mas- sachusetts; Shachar Tauber, MD, Springfield, Missouri; Mitchell volk.com/pictorplus Portable Ophthalmic Camera [ Buy Today ] Visit Volk # 1955 for SAVINGS Making portable possible. $1000 .00 OFF/ FREE Volk Lens at ASCRS Sign Up for a Complimentary 2-Week Trial volk.com/pictorplus Portable Ophthalmic Camera [ Buy Today ] Visit Volk # 1955 for SAVINGS Making portable possible. $1000 .00 OFF/ FREE Volk Lens at ASCRS Sign Up for a Complimentary 2-Week Trial 2015 ASCRS Film Festival in San Diego Weikert, MD, Houston; and inter- national judge Daniele Aron-Rosa, MD, Paris. A winner and runner-up are selected in each category. Then 3 of the top films are named the Best of the Best and 1 Grand Prize winner is selected from these 3. "I think what makes this event truly special is watching the excite- ment of the winners and runners-up as they come up to the stage to receive their awards. This is true for older, seasoned surgeons and newer producers," Dr. Hoffman said. "They put an incredible amount of time and energy into their productions, and it's nice to see them be recog- nized." Dr. Hoffman said an award-win- ning film is concise and clear with good cinematics and audio, which he said makes watching it "as en- grossing as watching a good Holly- wood film." "If 1 element is off such as the music being too disruptive or the narration being difficult to follow, that film becomes a chore to watch and usually won't win an award or be of long-lasting value to ASCRS members," he said of the quality judges look for in submissions. Last year brought in about 180 film submissions, each not to exceed 8 minutes, and this year saw about 170, Dr. Hoffman said. "Films are an essential aspect of learning within ophthalmology," Dr. Hoffman said. "Most of us are surgeons and learn techniques by watching other individuals' films. I still go online before performing a procedure that I haven't performed in awhile just to review the nuances of a particular procedure. "The Film Festival allows us to share new techniques, complica- tion management, or just review a particular case or subject matter. The better the film, the more educational and/or entertainment value it has," he said. Dr. Hoffman went on to say that he has learned something from this event every year, and 2016 will be no different. "I'm looking forward to this year's festival more than ever," he said. EW

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