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.
Early life Ms. 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 Flores 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."Kristen Ridgway Bio""Kristen Ridgway , retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 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."Movie Link", "The Films", retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 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."Movies & TV", "The New York Times", retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 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 As 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."The Feel Good Film Festival , retrieved Oct. 8, 2011 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. 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."Justina Walford""Feel Good Film Festival: A festival that wants you to be happy...", "Latino Weekly Review", August 8, 2011 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. The focus is screening movies where the Festival's audience members leave the theaters feeling better than when they entered 100% of the time.Michael Jones, "Feel Good fest all for happy endings", "Variety", Aug. 1, 2008 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.Marshall Heyman, “Festival Seeks Happy Endings” , "Wall Street Journal", Aug. 12, 2011 She created the Festival to provide audiences with laugh-out-loud comedy and ultimately for having loads of fun.Mark Bell, "2010 Feel Good Film Festival Lineup Announced" , "Film Threat", July 13, 2010 The positive theme and energy of the Festival and its many high-quality films stands out amongst the sea of Los Angeles film festivals.Elizabeth Regal, "The Feel Good Film Festival 2012 Review", "Splash Magazines", Aug. 26, 2012 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.".Anthony Carpio, "North Hollywood film festival offers a little feel-good fare", "Daily News, Los Angeles", Aug. 2, 2012
Personal life Flores is active in her community, Highland Park Los Angeles, California.Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council She and her husband, actor Dominic (Stephen) Flores, reside in Los Angeles, Highland Park, California with their daughter and three sons.
Filmography Year Film Role2005West Bank StoryOn-set dresser2005The PlaybookActress – Hot bar chick; production designer2006House at the End of the DriveSet dresser2006Real vs. ReelActress – Esther; production designer2006IdolProduction designer2006BaggedActress – Laura Bushen; production assistant2006Heroes: Chapter One ‘Genesis’ (#1.1)Art Department2006Heroes: Chapter Two ‘Don’t Look Back’ (#1.2)Art Department2007McBride: Semper FiTV - swing20077-10 Split a/k/a StrikeProduction designer2007Shadow PuppetsProduction designer2007Bone DryProduction designer2007Heroes: Chapter Twenty-Three ‘How to Stop an Exploding Man’ (#1.23)Art Department2008Blind AmbitionProduction designer2008Ingles Ya!Set designer2009Tom CoolSet decorator2009Dandelion DharmaCo-producer2009Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePantsTV documentary - Self2009It’s a MismatchOn-set dresser2010For the Good of the PeopleAssistant production designer2011Cuff’dProducer
References
External links
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.