This year the Damah Film Festival was held on the grounds of the Culver Studios, where some of the greatest movies of all time were filmed : Orson Welles’ classic "Citizen Kane" (1941), the original "King Kong" with Fay Wray (1933), Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film, "Rebecca" (1940), and yes, the unforgettable "Gone With the Wind" (1939).

According to Damah.com, just northeast of the giant Sony Sony/M-G-M Studios, you’ll find the smaller, but equally historic Culver Studios. Over the years, this film lot has been home to such names as RKO, Laird, Howard Hughes, and Desilu studios.

They filmed part of the movie "Bewitched" at the studio, and others like "The Rock," "Crazy in Alabama," "Stuart Little," “Armageddon," "Contact," "City Slickers" and more. But many TV sitcoms (such as NBC’s "Mad About You" and CBS’s "The Nanny") were taped at Culver Studios. Recently, they shot "Life With Bonnie" and "Arrested Development" at Culver Studios, and before that, you could have watched shows like "Bette," "Ladies Man," "Grown Ups" and "Malcolm & Eddie".

The exteriors of most Hollywood studios are notoriously plain, typically resembling large industrial plants, says the online movie magazine Seeing Stars, billed as The Ultimate Guide to Celebrities and Hollywood.

The site says : "Culver Studios is the exception to that rule ; its exterior facade is a grand colonial mansion, a virtual copy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, fronted by sweeping green lawns, sculpted hedges, flowering rose bushes, and the picturesque white "mansion" itself. Without doubt, this is the most attractive of all movie studios, and one that is clearly visible to everyone driving down Culver City’s Washington Boulevard."

Fans of classic motion pictures will immediately recognize the studio’s colonial mansion from the opening credits of the David O. Selznick International productions, such as "Gone With the Wind," and "Duel in the Sun."

Ironically, the site explains, like its giant neighbor M-G-M, this studio isn’t even located in Hollywood. Instead, it’s in Culver City, a sleepy little town with a big Hollywood history.

It was at Culver Studios that some of the greatest movies of all time were filmed : Orson Welles’ classic "Citizen Kane" (1941), the original "King Kong" with Fay Wray (1933), "Crazy in Alabama," "Stuart Little," “Armageddon," "Contact," "City Slickers" and more. Many TV sitcoms (such as NBC’s "Mad About You" and CBS’s "The Nanny") were taped at Culver Studios. Recently, they shot "Life With Bonnie" and "Arrested Development" at Culver Studios, and before that, you could have watched shows like "Bette," "Ladies Man," "Grown Ups" and "Malcolm & Eddie".

They even staged the famous "burning of Atlanta" scene from "Gone With The Wind" here on the back lot of Culver Studios, on December 10, 1938. The city of "Atlanta" was actually made up of various old sets from previous films made on the lot, which David O. Selznick set ablaze to make room for the construction of the exterior of Tara. (The fire consumed old sets from "King Kong," "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Little Lord Fauntleroy.") Yet the key role of Scarlett O’Hara still had not been cast. As Selznick watched from atop an observation tower as the red flames consumed "Atlanta," his brother Myron introduced him to Vivien Leigh, with the words : "I’d like you to meet your Scarlett O’Hara."

Other movies filmed at Culver Studios include : 1938’s "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," 1948’s "Portrait of Jennie" (with Joseph Cotton & Jennifer Jones), 1944’s "Since You Went Away" (with Shirley Temple and Claudette Colbert), 1947’s "The Farmer’s Daughter" (with Loretta Young), 1939’s "Made For Each Other" (with Jimmy Stewart and Carole Lombard), "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1946, with Ronald Colman, and Hitchcock’s "Notorious" (1946, with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman) and his 1945 thriller "Spellbound" with Gregory Peck.

At this year’s Damah Film Festival, the winner in the 5-minute category was "LaLiberte de I’Interieur" (Freedom From Within) by Eric Albertson, the story of a man confined to a door-less, window-less room who is helped to freedom by a mysterious stranger.

In the 15-minute category, "5 Minutes," the story of a woman on the verge of suicide who is approached by a man claiming he is Jesus Christ, took top honors. The film was directed by Deborah Brown and filmed in Milan, Italy. Brown received the award from Batman Forever screenwriter Janet Scott Batchler.

"Joseph Henry" by Director Phil Allocco won the award in the 30-minute category, beguiling viewers with a contrast between thought and reality.

The Best of Show award was presented to Elinor Geller, who helmed "Spirit Child" a narrated and animated piece about a spirit child who lives happily in a cemetery until she unexpectedly stumbles into the dark. The award was presented by Damah juror and Japan’s top film producer Kanjiro Sakura (White Out, Aegis) who sponsored the $2,000 cash prize.

"I have been involved with Damah over the past 5 years and have been greatly inspired by the short films," noted Sakura. "They have had a significant influence on me personally – both in a spiritual sense and practical sense. As a result, I have a desire to continue making influential films in Japan."

"We are very pleased with the festival this year" said the Executive Director of Damah, John Bucher. "We feel that these films truly capture the best in spiritually themed cinema."

Other highlights of the weekend included the Inside Pitch seminar with Chris Lockhart, Executive Story Editor at ICM, where aspiring writers ventured to the front of the theater, grabbed a microphone and pitched their ideas to the industry expert.

Scott Halford, the Director of the Foursite Film Festival and a first time attendee at Damah praised the festival : "Damah has been very accepting of different walks of life and is all embracing. No one was outwardly preachy, rather they were concerned with being pro-truth and it was very refreshing."

Winners were selected by a stellar cast of jurors, which included X-Men helmer Ralph Winter, Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and thirteen others.

For more information about the Damah Film Festival and to be added to the mailing list for next year’s event, please visit www.damah.com or contact Laura Kobzeff at (916) 425-8820 or info@damah.com.