Return of the Film Festival

In its fourth year, the Monterey Bay Film Festival will be screening short films created by local and international filmmakers with the help of CSUMB students. The Monterey Bay Film Festival will last two days and will be held on Friday April 8 and Saturday, April 9.

On Friday the event will be held at the Lighthouse Cinema in Pacific Grove starting at 7 p.m. Departing from the previous year, the film "Revolucion" will be shown, which was created by several Mexican filmmakers and consists of ten short films. The film will cover the topic of revolution in modern Mexico. One of the filmmakers, Rodrigo Garcia will be at the screening as well as doing a workshop for video making with local teens. Tickets are $9 for general admission and $6.50 for students.

On Saturday the Monterey Bay Film Festival Moves to CSUMB. The doors to the World Theatre will open at 12:30 p.m. 16 short films will be screened, some of which were created by local and international teens and students. While the screening is free, it is recommended that you reserve seats to ensure a spot at the festival.

The students, faculty and staff at Cal State Monterey Bay could not be happier about the festival. "I am ecstatic about the whole thing! We have an internationally renown fillmmaker presenting an astounding Omnibus film, a program that empowers young people, and an innovative shorts program created by a renown Sundance programmer who will be there in person" says Enid Blader, Department Chair of Teledramatic Arts & Technonolgy at CSUMB.

According to Juan Ramirez, Outreach Coordinator for the TAT Department, the Monterey Bay Film Festival is great because it allows for stories to be heard that otherwise may not have been. "There is a story of a 14 year old young man as he traveled through the world just so he can have a better life. Imagine how cool it would be if he would be here to see his film on the big screen and talk about his story. I know he can't attend because he now lives in the UK but think about the local kids who submitted their film and are going to be able to share their story in person as well. That's amazing to me."

Ramirez also points to the importance of teens being involved in the process of filmmaking which is an integral part of the workshops that the Monterey Bay Film Society provides. "The festival is important not only because it shows work locally and all over the world but because it brings people together and exposes them to something that they might have never experienced (especially for our youth that we serve in our workshops). Kids get to be exposed to the University… and see work that is truly amazing."

CSUMB's TAT Department is presenting the festival and many students have had an integral part in its success. Many in the TAT Department have screened the film entries and chosen certain films that will be shown on Saturday. In addition, many TAT majors will be helping with the marketing of the film festival. Others will serve as greeters and ushers at the actual event.

Three TAT Capstones will be screened at the Monterey Bay Film Festival, including the films "iDance," "Irwin Stevens: Untamed World," and "Simple English". According to Mark Janiak, senior, TAT, the best part of having the Monterey Bay Film Festival on campus is the variety of films. "You get to see a wide range of films from documentaries to animations to music videos." For him and other students like him in the TAT Department, Service Learning has provided them with the opportunity to encourage others and share their skills with local teens.

According to Ramirez, after the screening of the 16 films, there will be an additional screening of films brought by Creative Director for the Monterey Bay Film Festival, Mike Plante. Plante is not only the Creative Director for the Monterey Bay Film Festival, but he is an associate programmer for the world renowned Sundance Festival. The program he will be showing is called "True Stories," a collection of independent films that would normally not be seen outside of the Sundance Festival.

The Monterey Bay Film Festival is a part of the Monterey Bay Film Society, a central coast-based organization that promotes the cinematic arts. The organization sponsors many community-based programs focused on independent films and education for all people of the Monterey Bay.

For more information check out these websites:
Monterey Bay Film Festival
Monterey Bay Film Society