Last Saturday we dropped the velvet curtain on the seventh annual Santa Cruz Film Festival. The nine day Festival included 146 films from 26 countries. Each year this festival blows me away—both in the quality of the films and its global reach. We opened to a full house with One Fast Move and I’m Gone: Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur, an eye-opening documentary on how fame tortured the Roadster Kerouac. Up ’til 2 a.m. on night one, the second day brought the opportunity to enjoy dinner and conversation with the directors Tom Wheelan and Brian LaBelle of The Art of Travel, a fun coming of age/traveling adventure tale starring Chris Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle) and Brooke Burns. There’s nothing more refreshing than meeting humble directors with great films. Their film set the pace for what seemed like a wanderlust theme in ‘08.
As the week carried on Festival attendance proved stronger than all previous years and film goers were blown away by The Listening Project, a film that went around the world asking “What do you think of America?” and Ripple Effect, starring Forest Whittaker and Virginia Madsen.
When closing night finally arrived, I was honored to take one of The Listening Project’s directors, Dominic Howes, out to dinner before he was bestowed the Jury Award for Best Documentary.
It was a long nine days, but it was a blast. Thank you to all who helped fund and support this year’s Fest. Please join me for year eight in 2009!