The San Luis Obispo Film Festival (March 13-18) has announced its full slate of films with a jam-packed schedule of events of film, wine, and food, including a Bollywood themed Opening Night Gala featuring Shubhashish Bhutiani’s HOTEL SALVATION, and SLO’s signature ode to surfing with their annual “Surf Nite” blow out and a “Movies by the Bay” surfing movie double feature. Special Presentations include screenings highlighting The Beat Generation, “Movies for Wine Lovers,” a Central Coast Filmmakers Showcase, and movie classics, in addition to an impressive lineup of narrative and documentary films in competition. The line-up includes 139 films (20 narrative features, 34 documentary features, and 85 short films) representing 19 countries.
Four new documentaries will make their world premieres at SLO: Conor B’ Lewis’s asbestos expose, DIRTY LAUNDRY; Julie Simone’s music doc on the Old Time and Bluegrass community, FIDDLIN’; Michael Arlen Davis’s exploration of the world of SAT/ACT student testing, THE TEST & THE ART OF THINKING; and Charlie Samuels’s New York City skateboard doc, VIRGIN BLACKTOP: A NEW YORK STATE ODYSSEY.
“This year’s film program reflects the past year of political adversity, environmental concerns, an exciting new focus on women’s rights, and a whole slew of other current affairs that have made for some very provocative movies. With a film schedule including everything from clever animation to hilarious comedies, exciting sports films and fascinating documentaries, we’re confident that we’ve come up with a very diverse and high-quality program that offers something for every taste,” said San Luis Obispo Film Festival Director Wendy Eidson. “The San Luis Obispo Film Festival is quickly becoming a filmmaker’s and film-lover’s mecca full of visiting directors, producers, actors and industry pros. We’re very proud and happy to welcome all of them to our friendly and open-minded community.”
Shubhashish Bhutiani’s HOTEL SALVATION follows the adventure that ensues when an old man convinces his son to journey with him to the holy city of Varanasi so he may end the cycle of rebirth by attaining salvation. Once they arrive, his son struggles to deal with his father as well as issues at home, while the old man Rajiv struggles to juggle his responsibilities back home, while his father flourishes at the hotel. The Gala evening will include Indian dancers from the Cal Poly Student Association entertaining on the Mission steps, while guests will be treated to party favors, Central Coast wine, beer and a mixture of savory Indian and American food, prior to the screening at the Fremont Theatre (1035 Monterey Street).
One of the signatures of the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, is “Surf Nite,” celebrating the surfing culture and community via films featuring the gigantic waves and the people that seek to conquer them captured on the big screen. This year, Tim Bonython’s latest film, THE BIG WAVE PROJECT, which includes footage of what has been called “the biggest wave ever attempted” and Aaron Gold’s infamous massive paddle-in wave at Jaws, in Hawaii, will make it’s North American premiere, screened along with Ross Haines’s THE AGAVE GUN, featuring Gary Linden, the founder of The Big Wave Tour. Directors Tim Bonython, Ross Haines and film subject, Gary Linden, with more special guests yet to be announced, will all be in attendance. “Movies by the Bay” will be highlighted by a double feature including Ira Opper’s DESERT POINT, about a rarely experienced surfing location in Indonesia, and surfer and filmmaker James Fazio’s TIME WELL SPENT which profiles four young surfers from Indonesia, Hawaii, Peru and Australia – both of which will be screened at the Bay Theater in Morro Bay (464 Morro Bay Blvd.).
Special Presentations include a focus on The Beat Generation including; Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s HOWL (2010), starring James Franco as a young Allen Ginsberg attempting to find his true voice as an artist during the birth of a counterculture; Chuck Workman’s definitive documentary THE SOURCE: THE STORY OF THE BEATS AND THE BEAT GENERATION (1999), on the time and the legendary writers, artists, and personalities that were part of it; Roger Corman’s cheapo classic A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959); and PULL MY DAISY (1959) Directors: Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie’s short PULL MY DAISY (1959) based on an incident in the life of Beat icon Neal Cassady and his artist wife, narrated by Jack Kerouac narrates and starring poets Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky and Gregory Corso.
Other special highlights include a screening of Feras Fayyad’s Academy Award-nominated documentary LAST MEN IN ALEPPO. This is the first Syrian film to ever be nominated for an Oscar, and Fayyad will be in attendance for this fundraiser for the “White Helmets”. Also screening are France’s Oscar submission, Robin Campillo’s B.P.M. (BEATS PER MINUTE), and Michael Gallagher’s Slamdance hit, FUNNY STORY, which stars Matthew Glave, (Argo, FX’s “Better Things”) and Emily Bett Rickards (CW’s “Arrow”) in the story of a lesbian couple’s wedding plans going awry after the father of one of the brides sleeps with her partner en route to the nuptials. SLO will also offer a trio of family-friendly classics from three of the directing greats (William Wellman’s BUFFALO BILL (1944), Fred Zinnemann’s OKLAHOMA! (1955), and RUBY GENTRY (1952) from San Luis Obispo’s own, King Vidor.)
Women are the focus of several films and special events, including one called “Women BELONG in the Kitchen.” Female chefs and restaurant owners will compete in a “Chopped”- style competition, before the screening of A FINE LINE, a new doc about the rarity of women in commercial kitchens. Female wine, beer and cider makers will serve their wares during the competition. A short film that documents the SLO Women’s March will be followed by CATCHING SIGHT OF THELMA & LOUISE, 79-year-old first-time filmmaker Jennifer Townsend’s in-depth look into the effects of that iconic film many years after its release.
Films selected for the Narrative Competition, include Kyle Rideout’s ADVENTURES IN PUBLIC SCHOOL, Brandon Dickerson’s AMANDA AND JACK GO GLAMPING, Harris Doran’s BEAUTY MARK, Scott Smith’s CHASING THE BLUES, Sandra Vannucchi’s GIRL IN FLIGHT, Sam Upton’s GUN, Dustin Cook’s I HATE THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT, Adam Cushman’s THE MAESTRO, Peter Luisi’s STREAKER, and Charles Garrad’s WAITING FOR YOU.
Documentary Competition selections include Joanna James’s A FINE LINE, Shane Anderson’s A RIVER’S LAST CHANCE, Ivo Marloh’s ALL THE WILD HORSES, Mark Tchelistcheff’s ANDRE: THE VOICE OF WINE, Robert Lieberman’s ANGKOR AWAKENS: AN INSIDE LOOK
AT CAMBODIA, Moon Chang-Yong, and Jeon Jin’s BECOMING WHO I WAS, Tony Lee’s THE CAT THAT CHANGED AMERICA, Fr3der1ck Taylor’s COUNTER HISTORIES: ROCK HILL,
Conor B. Lewis’s DIRTY LAUNDRY, Julie Simone’s FIDDLIN’ Justin Koehler’s FLOATING HORSES: THE LIFEOF CASEY TIBBS, Allie Humenuk, and Amy Geller’s THE GUYS NEXT DOOR, Peter L. Stein’s JACQUES PÈPIN: THE ART OF CRAFT, Poli Martinez Kaplun’s LEA AND MIRA, Susan Kucera’a LIVING IN THE FUTURE’S PAST, Joel Fendelman’s MAN ON FIRE, Delila Vallot’s MIGHTY GROUND, Guy Fiorita’s MOLE MAN, Nick Taylor’s THE ORGANIZER, Zeljko Mirkovic’s THE PROMISE, Chelo Alvarez-Stehle’s SANDS OF SILENCE: WAVES OF COURAGE, Mark Hayes’s SKID ROW MARATHON, Michael Arlen Davis’s THE TEST & THE ART OF THINKING, and Paige Tolmach’s WHAT HAUNTS US.
Passes are now on sale and information on the film festival can be found at https://slofilmfest.org.