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Tuesday, 23 August 2011 02:16

West Coast Film Festival

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It's 2:00am and I'm just getting back from my first day at the newly minted West Coast Film Festival.  Full details as to pricing and scheduling are available on the their website HERE but I thought I'd jot down impressions before I turned in.

Professional - how else to say it?  Not a hitch in the giddy-up anywhere.  Run by Regency Theaters and overseen by (I'm proud to say ) OCSWA board member, Larry Porricelli, who is the Regency Theaters General Mgr., it couldn't have been more effortless to buy tickets, park and attend.  To a person, the people working the theater and the festival were incredibly helpfull and personable.  You get the sense that they are crafted from the mold of Mr. Porricelli himself.

The venue is the gorgeous Regency Franciscan Plaza in San Juan Capistrano which features not only the normal theater amenities but also a bar/restaurant on the top floor that tonight was taken over by the cast, crew and fans of the movie "Double Tap" starring Fabain Carrillo and Robert LaSardo ("Nip/Tuck") which was having it's world premiere that evening.

The screening of the actioneer was well-represented by cast and crew including some of the stunt men from Shuyokan Dojo in Costa Mesa, who worked in the fight scenes.  Mr. Carrillo, among other things, is a black belt at the dojo and he used a lot of the same men with who he works out on aregency franciscan daily basis for his stunt crew.

Mr. Carrillo has said "If you can you must.  And if you must you will" and truer words were never spoken for this independent filmmaker whose journey to complete this film has the epic overtones of Odysseus' journey.  We'll try to grab him for an interview at some point in the future to talk in detail about the years of struggle to get his film back from business partners who were less than upfront.

But back to the festival itself...

Unlike a lot of film festivals, being on scene had a warm and fuzzy feeling to it. (especially after a few bourbons at Vito's up the street.)  Perhaps it was mingling with many of Mr. Carrillo's friends and co-stars, including Pepe Serna ("Scarface") and Mr. LaSardo, who, despite his sometimes severe look was gracious and charming to all who approached.  

But everyone, without fail, was really enjoying the place and the moments.  It reminded me of the many premieres I've attended in Los Angeles.  It had that same fun and positive energy to it that you get when a crew is finished with a film and is rightfully taking some bows for their hard work - even better in the context of the film festival.

fabian carrilloThe festival presents as an odd, albeit interesting, one.  Featuring older films like "Ben Hur" and actual Looney Tunes cartoons, it also has the latest in features including the aforementioned "Double Tap" and the widely anticipated "Warrior" from Lion's Gate which won't open officially for another few weeks.  Attendees can see it this coming Sunday (8/25) at the festival along with "Spork" and "Wuss" throughout the run of the festival.

Having attended other festivals, new ones, old ones, I can say unequivocally that you'd never know this one was in its inaugural year both for the wide and pleasingly eclectic selection, and the smooth operation.  Didn't I say it at the beginning of this review?  Professional.

The festival runs through Sunday, 8/25 and has a lot of fun and surprising selections with special guests like Mrs. Gene Autry and the L.A. Angels of Anaheim players scheduled for attendance.

Ticket information is available HERE and HERE.

Go!  You'll love the ambiance and the selection.

Read 2062 times Last modified on Wednesday, 05 August 2015 16:16
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Mark Sevi

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