San Luis Obispo International Film Festival

Cassio Pereira ‘s VALENTINA: SLO FILM FEST 2021 INTERVIEWS

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, we talk about how VALENTINA addresses what could be seen as the more mundane – though no less damaging on a daily basis – affronts and indignities and difficulties transgender youth go through as they simply try to just get by. Cassio also talks about his personal work with his research and on set to ensure he got the details correct, as well as how important the casting of Brazilian You Tube personality Thiessa Woinbackk in the title role and what she added beyond her performance. He also goes through the editing process to capture the right rhythm for the film.

Lauren Noll ‘s HONOR, Alix Angelis SEANCE-ING , SLO Film Fest 2021 Interviews

By John Wildman 5 years ago

The films couldn’t be farther apart on the storytelling spectrum from one another, but they both share the accomplishment of either gutting you with the emotional crisis of potentially denying your identity and betraying someone to “save” yourself (HONOR), or landing you smack dab into the emotional psychology of your teen youth and overcoming the immense crises in our heads that all of us likely faced during that time in our lives (SEANCE-ING). And they effectively achieve that within short run times.

Jen Rainin and Rivkah Beth Meadow’s AHEAD OF THE CURVE: SLO Film Fest 2021 Interviews:

By John Wildman 5 years ago

In the interview, we talk about the challenges faced in making a documentary when you have a relationship with the subject (Jen is married to Franco), delving into the topic of representation, and the evolution of the acceptance of the word “lesbian” within the story of Curve and Franco. We also discuss the desire by Jen and Rivkah to make sure the film was forward thinking as opposed to just approaching the film a s a history lesson.

Courtney Haile Short Films, Big Stories: A Program of Diverse Voices at San Luis Obispo International Film Fest puts inclusion and racial equity front and center

By John Wildman 5 years ago

San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Skye McLennan said, “The intent of this program is to continue to be a platform for diverse voices in our community of San Luis Obispo. The murder of George Floyd last year and the increase in the Black Lives Matter protests that followed only amplified the need for more diversity within the arts and how crucially important representation can be. We designed this program to be free and accessible to all and an opportunity for all audiences to fall in love with film festivals and power of the cinema. This collection of films and panels aims to inspire, stimulate and engage our community and others to participate in creating change. Through the grant received by the City of SLO we are able to pay the filmmakers, programmers and panelists and this is something we hope to continue to expand and grow and be able to offer more opportunities in the future.”

Philippe Falardeau ’s MY SALINGER YEAR Opens 2021 San Luis Obispo Film Fest: hybrid film fest including Surf Nite at the Drive-in

By John Wildman 5 years ago

San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Skye McLennan said, “Following last year’s whirlwind experience to shift our film festival to an online presentation seemingly overnight due to the onset of the pandemic, it’s a gift to know that the same dedication we put into selecting our films is matched by the SLO Film Fest audience’s anticipation to see them – virtually or in-person. But safety is still the priority, so while we will all go to the drive-in for Surf Nite, the rest of the time, we will once again be coming into our film faithful’s homes to deliver the best movies we could find.”

Program Director Skye McLennan: Regional Film Fests killing it (versus being killed) during the year of COVID: San Luis Obispo International Film Festival

By John Wildman 5 years ago

Skye: Our virtual festival was just a webpage we designed very quickly. At the point of our cancellation we had very little time and funds to use a proper platform and there was not a lot out there that fit our model. I was surprised by the level of support and feedback from our audience who were just so appreciative for the opportunity to still see the films. It was a reminder that our organization is an important staple of our community and something patrons were really going to miss.

Lela Meadow-Conner, Film Festival Alliance Executive Director: Teaming with Full Spectrum Features to put together first Film Festival Leadership Lab

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“As the Alliance has quickly grown over the last few years, and serves as North America’s only professional affiliation for those who work within the film festival industry, we realized there was a need to cultivate our industry’s future leadership beyond our regular professional development activities.,” said Lela Meadow-Conner, FFA Executive Director. “We’ve been fortunate to engage with wonderful partners including Full Spectrum Features and Stephen Bárczay Sloan, Founder of the Humane Leadership Institute, to execute the program.”