San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Upon departing San Francisco last Saturday, I thought I would only stay in SLO until Monday night. Then I found out about the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival and just sorta stayed in town. I haven't really attended in recent years though I hapharzardly entered 2 shorts last year, neither of which were accepted. I now realize why. This is a high caliber event! The two films I have seen so far both exceeded my expectations. Sophia, is an uplifting documentary that follows Sophia Mulanovich as she claims her world surfing title in Hawaii and then returns to her native Peru where a movement literally forms around her. The director, Peter Goetz was in the audience. The social message of his film was a refreshing contrast to Volcom's egotistic Bruce Movie.
While waiting in line for Sophia to open, a young couple with VIP passes arrived at the theatre. They said they were filmmakers, but for a different film. I asked which one and they said it was called Self Medicated and it was playing the same time the following night. So I decided to go. The couple turned out to be Writer/Director/Star Monty Lapica and supporting actress Kristina Anapau. Lapica tells a personal story of a bright yet stubborn adolescent who loses his father and gets into trouble in school and with the law. He clashes with his mother, who turns him over to a rehab clinic in the desert. The film runs a little long but the audience was completely captivated for the entire show. The acting was so good that I barely noticed the high production value and excellent score. I was shocked when Lapica mentioned how small his budget was.
All-in-all I'm very impressed where this small town film fest has gone. Hopefully, I can hit another film or two before it ends.
While waiting in line for Sophia to open, a young couple with VIP passes arrived at the theatre. They said they were filmmakers, but for a different film. I asked which one and they said it was called Self Medicated and it was playing the same time the following night. So I decided to go. The couple turned out to be Writer/Director/Star Monty Lapica and supporting actress Kristina Anapau. Lapica tells a personal story of a bright yet stubborn adolescent who loses his father and gets into trouble in school and with the law. He clashes with his mother, who turns him over to a rehab clinic in the desert. The film runs a little long but the audience was completely captivated for the entire show. The acting was so good that I barely noticed the high production value and excellent score. I was shocked when Lapica mentioned how small his budget was.
All-in-all I'm very impressed where this small town film fest has gone. Hopefully, I can hit another film or two before it ends.
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