FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: The 2019 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival reports Filmmaker Awards & Record Audience and Sponsorship Growth for Second Year.
The 2019 San Luis Obispo Film Festival announced impressive audience and sponsorship growth numbers following the conclusion of the 25th Anniversary edition of the film festival on March 17.
Winners of their jury awards for the popular film festival included Jesus del Cerro’s HAWAII (Best Narrative Feature) and Delila Vallot’s SATAN & ADAM (Best Documentary Feature). Audience Award winners were topped by Benedikt Erlingsson’s WOMAN AT WAR, chosen as Best Narrative Feature, Aaron Lieber’s UNSTOPPABLE: BETHANY HAMILTON, Best Documentary Feature, and Ashley Bell’s LOVE & BANANAS taking the Best of Fest award.
SLO Film Fest attendance and pass sales rose sharply by 15% and sponsorships were up 18% for the 2019 edition of the film festival.
The George Sidney Independent Film Awards took place on Saturday, March 16 preceding the presentation of SLO’s King Vidor Award to critically acclaimed character actor Alfred Molina. The festival’s Student Filmmaker Awards and Audience Awards were announced the following evening.
“While the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has been on an upward trajectory as far as the number of audience members have been concerned for a few years now, this year’s response was seriously off the charts,” said San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Wendy Eidson. “There are lot of areas that one could chalk that up to, but we all know that it begins and ends with the quality of our films, and our award winners certainly exemplified a very fine year as far as that was concerned.”
Additional winners in the George Sidney Independent Film Awards category included a tie in the Best Narrative Short category between Jason Maza’s THE LITTLE PRINCESS and Hammad Rizvi’s RANI. Best Documentary Short Film went to Leslie Iwerks’ SELLING LIES, and Lauren Schwartman’s DUST RISING won Best Student Film. The short films chosen for Audience Award nods were Nate Duncan’s THE INTERVIEW (Best Narrative Short Film), and Morgan Elliot’s BAND GEEKS (Best Documentary Short Film).
Winners of the Central Coast Filmmaker Awards were; Seanie Sugrue’s MISTY BUTTON (Best Narrative Feature), Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer, and Quinn Costello’s RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE (Best Documentary Feature); Dale Griffiths Stamos’ THE DINNER GUEST (Best Narrative Short Film); Alex Astrella’s TRIAL BY FIRE (Best Documentary Short Film); Ellen Osborne’s REBOOT (Best Animated Film), and Carlos Plummer’s BECOMING RICH (Best Student Film).
Sunday also featured awards given to the top high school and middle school students whose films screened in SLO’s Filmmakers of Tomorrow Showcase. Best Individual Achievement went to Kylia MaMure’s THE SIGHT YOU GAVE (High School), and Isabella Masrouga’s NEVER ENOUGH (Middle School), and Bo Yu Lin, and Shuo-Heng Li’s HI SIRI – OH NO – ITS MOM. The film chosen for Best Group Achievement was Brendan Hickey, Rachel Warshaw, and Claire Kikenny TAKEOUT, Emmet Arries’ BACKYARD WILDLIFE took The Wild World We Love Award (Pacific Wildlife Care Award), Max Shoham’s HEARTH was named Best Animated Film, and Nina Rafique’s GROWTH won the Festival Directors Award for Creativity.
Kicking off the film festival was a special Opening Night event, “An Evening with Katharine Ross” at theFremont Theatre, Ross delighted the crowd with a performance reading from the true story from Margaret K Wetterer’s “Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express,” accompanied by the Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra. As if that wasn’t enough, Ross then participated in a conversation about her career acting in a number of classic and beloved films before introducing a 50th Anniversary screening of BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID.
Highlights included world premieres of Dina Mande’s wine country documentary TIN CITY, and Guillermo García López’s thought provoking DELICATE BALANCE. Rodrigo Bernardo’s romantic comedy MAYBE A LOVE STORY, and Meaghan and Marie Wright’s documentary THE SOCIAL SHIFT, both made their U.S. premieres at the SLO Film Fest this year, and the filmmakers for each film were on hand for the debuts to talk about their films. The SLO Film Fest’s 25th Anniversary was celebrated with filmmakers returning to SLO for screenings of LIVES WELL LIVED (Sky Bergman), PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA (Chris Metzler), and BOTSO (Tom Walters). Other special presentations included a 3-D presentation of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954), and a MARY POPPINS (1964) Sing-along, which continued a SLO tradition that started in 2000.
The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival’s hugely popular “Surf Nite,” packed them in once again at the Fremont Theatre, and “Surf’s Up at the Bay Theatre” was another big event at the Bay Theater in Morro Bay. King Vidor Award honoree Alfred Molina charmed, entertained, and provided belly laughs for the crowd that came out to see the presentation of his award and conversation with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz. Molina then attended the SLO Film Fest after party at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, where he met several film fans, took photos, and proved himself to be not simply an amazing actor, but quite the ambassador of film, as well.
Closing Night featured the presentation of San Luis Obispo native 25-year-old Hannah Marks’ directorial debut, AFTER EVERYTHING. Following the screening, Marks, who was named one of Rolling Stone’s 25 under 25 Artists Changing the World, discussed the film and her impressive young career with Variety’s Janelle Riley.
2019 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Jury:
Laura Davis – Producer (THE SHOT FELT ‘ROUND THE WORLD, HELLBENT)
Colette Freedman – Novelist/Playwright/Screenwriter (QUALITY PROBLEMS, AND THEN THERE WAS EVE)
Karen Garcia – Journalist (San Luis Obispo New Times)
Kirk Honeycutt – Author/Film Critic/Journalist (Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University)
Paul Lichtman – Producer/Screenwriter/Actor (SOPHIE’S CHOICE, Barney Miller, Mary Tyler Moore)
Terry Lichtman – Retired Talent Agent
Jenelle Riley – Journalist/Celbrity Host (Variety)
Tom Walters – Writer/Producer/Director (BOTSO)
Caleb Wiseblood – Journalist (San Luis Obispo New Times)
The 2019 San Luis Obispo Film Festival Award Winners:
GEORGE SIDNEY INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS
HAWAII – Best Narrative Feature Director: Jesus del Cerro
SATAN & ADAM – Best Documentary Feature Director: Delila Vallot
THE LITTLE PRINCESS – Best Narrative Short Film (TIE)
Director: Jason Maza
RANI – Best Narrative Short Film (TIE)
Director/Writer: Hammad Rizvi
SELLING LIES – Best Documentary Short Film
Director: Leslie Iwerks
DUST RISING – Best Student Film
Director: Lauren Schwartman
AUDIENCE AWARDS
WOMAN AT WAR – Best Narrative Feature Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
UNSTOPPABLE: BETHANY HAMILTON – Best Documentary Feature
Director: Aaron Lieber
LOVE & BANANAS – Best in the Fest
Director: Ashley Bell
THE INTERVIEW – Best Narrative Short Film Director: Nate Duncan
BAND GEEKS – Best Documentary Short Film
Director: Morgan Elliott
CENTRAL COAST FILMMAKER AWARDS
MISTY BUTTON – Best Narrative Feature Director:: Seanie Sugrue
RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE – Best Documentary Feature Directors: Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer, Quinn Costello
THE DINNER GUEST – Best Narrative Short Film Director: Dale Griffiths Stamos
TRIAL BY FIRE – Best Documentary Short Film Director: Alex Astrella
REBOOT – Best Animated Short Film Director: Ellen Osborne
BECOMING RICH – Best Student Film Director: Carlos Plummer
FILMMAKERS OF TOMORROW SHOWCASE
THE SIGHT YOU GAVE – Best Individual Achievement (High School) Director: Kylia MaMure
NEVER ENOUGH – Best Individual Achievement (Middle School) Director: Isabella Masrouga
HI SIRI – OH NO – ITS MOM – Best Individual Achievement (Elementary School) Directors: Bo Yu Lin, Shuo-Heng Li
TAKEOUT – Best Group Achievement Directors: Brendan Hickey, Rachel Warshaw, Claire Kikenny
BACKYARD WILDLIFE – The Wild World We Love Award (Pacific Wildlife Care Award) Director: Emmet Arries
THE COMPLEX – Best Film – San Luis Obispo Country Director: Riley Stewart
HEARTH – Best Animated Film Director: Max Shoham
GROWTH – Festival Directors Award for Creativity Director: Nina Rafique
