Festival a perfect weekend destination

Actor/director Jeff Daniels’ latest feature will have its Midwest premiere at the 11th Annual Waterfront Film Festival June 11-14 in Saugatuck, Mich., where 70-plus films in five venues will screen.

Daniels’ “The Answer Man” is a comedy about the reclusive and misanthropic author of a landmark book that redefined spirituality for a generation, in which he claims to have spoken directly to God.

Some other Midwest premieres are:

* A Robin Williams starrer as “The World’s Greatest Dad,” in which he is a frustrated high school poetry teacher and single father dealing with a singularly odious and unlikable teenage son. “Dad” was the official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. * “Peter and Vandy” is a romantic comedy with lead actors Jason Ritter and Jess Weixler as young Manhattan couple whose relationship is profiled from the initial romance to the subsequent deterioration.

* “Women in Trouble” is a campy modern-day take on the B-List “women in trouble” exploitation films of the 1970s. It was written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez (“Snakes on a Plane”).

Sponsors for the 2009 festival include Kodak, National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and SAGIndie. Media Sponsors include Fox 17 in Grand Rapids and Citadel Broadcasting.

Ticket prices range from a $70-75 for a day pass to $500 for a patron pass. They may be purchased online at www.waterfrontfilm.org