Kristen Ridgway Flores is Founder and CEO of The Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood, California and an American actress, set designer, production designer, and film producer.
Kristen Flores | |
|---|---|
 Kristen Flores | |
| Born | Kristen Lee Ridgway |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Westmont College |
| Occupation(s) | actress, set designer, production designer, and film producer |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of The Feel Good Film Festival |
| Spouse |
Dominic (Stephen) Flores
(m. 2009) |
| Children | 3 sons, 1 daughter |
Early life
editMs. Flores received her early theatre and acting training in Seattle, Washington, where she participated in numerous theatrical productions including "Helen Keller", "Guys and Dolls", "South Pacific", "Narnia", and "Little Mary Sunshine".
She continued her theatrical and acting studies in Santa Barbara, California at the "Westmont College Theatre Arts Department" where she received her theatre and communications degrees. After relocating to Hollywood, she pursued a curriculum of film studies.
Film and television
editFlores contributions include actress, production designer, set designer, and producer for Hollywood films and television programs, including the television comedy series, "The Playbook". Flores' first credited film in 2005 was "West Bank Story", the Academy Awards winning, fast-paced musical comedy.[1] In 2006-2007 Flores worked in the art department of the television series, Heroes, which received the 2007 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nomination for the Art Director's Guild Award.[2] From 2007 until 2010 she tried out animation at Nickelodeon on the kids' classic cartoon, "SpongeBob SquarePants", a television series that has been awarded numerous primetime Emmy Awards for outstanding animated programming.[3] In 2009, she began working as a producer in the 2009 film "Dandelion Dharma". She also produced the 2011 MTV reality television series, "Cuff’d", released August 2011.
The Feel Good Film Festival
editAs Flores' passion is to positively influence Hollywood, she created Hollywood's non-profit Film festival, The Feel Good Film Festival, taking on responsibility for overall artistic direction including responsibility for film selection.[4] The Festival premiered in August 2008, providing a prime platform for winning projects that are entertaining, optimistic, humorous or heartwarming and leave the audience feeling good.[5] Flores' goal is to provide a film viewing experience for the entire family that encourages the development, production, and distribution of short or feature-length films with positive themes, happy endings, that make audiences laugh, and that capture the beauty of our world.[6] She searches for newly produced American, international, independent, and family-friendly submissions from around the world and is responsible for bringing wider attention to independent filmmakers including those listed in the awards section at The Feel Good Film Festival.[7] The focus is screening movies where the Festival's audience members leave the theaters feeling better than when they entered 100% of the time.[8] To achieve this, she hunts down features with positive views on life, humor, and positive scenes where at the end of it, you’re feeling better.[9] She created the Festival to provide audiences with laugh-out-loud comedy and ultimately for having loads of fun.[10] The positive theme and energy of the Festival and its many high-quality films stands out amongst the sea of Los Angeles film festivals.[11] She aims for the Festival to screen happy indie films with positive themes that lift energy levels of the audience members so they can bring that positivity back into the world they live in. "Unfortunately the news and other outlets do not focus on the `happy' ... they are used to focusing on the fear. We at FGFF hope to give an alternate view on life in media.".[12]
Personal life
editFlores is active in her community, Highland Park Los Angeles, California.[13] She and her husband, actor Dominic (Stephen) Flores, reside in Los Angeles, Highland Park, California with their daughter and three sons.
Filmography
edit| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | West Bank Story | On-set dresser |
| 2005 | The Playbook | Actress – Hot bar chick; production designer |
| 2006 | House at the End of the Drive | Set dresser |
| 2006 | Real vs. Reel | Actress – Esther; production designer |
| 2006 | Idol | Production designer |
| 2006 | Bagged | Actress – Laura Bushen; production assistant |
| 2006 | Heroes: Chapter One ‘Genesis’ (#1.1) | Art Department |
| 2006 | Heroes: Chapter Two ‘Don’t Look Back’ (#1.2) | Art Department |
| 2007 | McBride: Semper Fi | TV - swing |
| 2007 | 7-10 Split a/k/a Strike | Production designer |
| 2007 | Shadow Puppets | Production designer |
| 2007 | Bone Dry | Production designer |
| 2007 | Heroes: Chapter Twenty-Three ‘How to Stop an Exploding Man’ (#1.23) | Art Department |
| 2008 | Blind Ambition | Production designer |
| 2008 | Ingles Ya! | Set designer |
| 2009 | Tom Cool | Set decorator |
| 2009 | Dandelion Dharma | Co-producer |
| 2009 | Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants | TV documentary - Self |
| 2009 | It’s a Mismatch | On-set dresser |
| 2010 | For the Good of the People | Assistant production designer |
| 2011 | Cuff’d | Producer |
References
edit- ^ "Kristen Ridgway Bio""Kristen Ridgway Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved Oct. 8, 2011
- ^ "Movie Link""Kristen Ridgway Filmography" Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine, "The Films", retrieved Oct. 8, 2011
- ^ "Movies & TV""Kristen Ridgway", "The New York Times", retrieved Oct. 8, 2011
- ^ "The Feel Good Film Festival, retrieved Oct. 8, 2011
- ^ Flores, Kristen (2011-01-16). "Spotlight on the Community". 95.5 KLOS Southern California's Best Rock (Interview). Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ^ "Justina Walford""Feel Good Film Festival: A festival that wants you to be happy...", "Latino Weekly Review", August 8, 2011
- ^ Flores, Kristen (2011-01-16). "Spotlight on the Community". 95.5 KLOS Southern California's Best Rock (Interview). Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ^ Michael Jones, "Feel Good fest all for happy endings", "Variety", Aug. 1, 2008
- ^ Marshall Heyman, “Festival Seeks Happy Endings”, "Wall Street Journal", Aug. 12, 2011
- ^ Mark Bell, "2010 Feel Good Film Festival Lineup Announced" Archived September 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, "Film Threat", July 13, 2010
- ^ Elizabeth Regal, "The Feel Good Film Festival 2012 Review", "Splash Magazines", Aug. 26, 2012
- ^ Anthony Carpio, "North Hollywood film festival offers a little feel-good fare", "Daily News, Los Angeles", Aug. 2, 2012
- ^ Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council
External links
edit- Kristen Flores at IMDb
- Skip Bolden,“Includes Interview with Kristen Flores at the Feel Good Film Festival”, Aug. 12. 2011
- Actors Reporter, Hosted by Brett Walkow, video and pictures “Yellow Carpet at the 4th Annual Feel Good Film Festival at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California”, Aug. 19, 2011.