Well-dressed attendees, scrumptious appetizers, the outstanding Charles Valona jazz trio, an ice sculpture, even a youthful row of paparazzi (with disposable cameras) adorned the plaza/amphitheater at the south end of Redding’s downtown mall on Saturday.
The moment I walked in, I thought, “Wow, well done, Sundial Film Festival committee.” The film festival gala event was packed, well-organized and just the beginning of the evening. After some nice mingling, it was time for a stroll over to the Cascade Theatre for the rest of the events.
It felt like a big night — like a big deal. Not to overstate it, but it reminded me a bit of the glitz I experienced at the Grammys a few years back.
Actually, I think the inaugural Sundial Film Festival is a big deal for this area.
I’ll do my best to remember the quote from young filmmaker Chase Jensen: “For those hungry for the arts (in north state), this is a delicacy.”
Jensen had four films entered in the festival, including the claymation film “Revenge of the Mouse,” which won for Best Animation. I thought the three-minute piece was a brilliant bit of filmmaking. More on the films in a second.
Prior to the awards for photography (in three categories) and film (four categories), the audience was treated to music by the Sequoia Middle School band, a short video message by Redding native and esteemed film producer Kathleen Kennedy, and a heartfelt, funny and inspirational speech by documentary film producer Jessica Abbe, whose “Angle of Inspiration” (about the making of the Sundial Bridge) was shown during the festival.
I was one of the film judges for the festival, and I think I can speak for my fellow judges in saying there were a number of excellent, creative, inspired works entered.
The awards were handed out, and there were even acceptance speeches. The young filmmaker Eric Pace, whose film “Baba Yaga” won for best student film, was even a little edgy and irreverent in his acceptance speech, breaking into a spontaneous song. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see him plop down for some one-armed Jack Palance pushups.
I loved Pace’s creepy fairytale “Baba Yaga,” filmed in black-and-white with clever cinematography and special effects.
One of the most heartwarming films in my opinion was the narrative category winner “Profiles are Lovely,” by filmmaker Jeffery Loveness. Filming in his native Montgomery Creek, he crafted a humorous, philosophical look at an aspect of his life. Loveness’ filming technique reminded me a bit of “The Office,” but his quirky and highly original vision was executed well.
The grand prize winner, “Cart,” by filmmaker Jesse Rosten, was a true gem as well. The film’s music score by Peter Lance was incredible, and I relate with blogger Bruce Ross, who mentioned that “Cart” had him and his wife in tears. Rosten’s film contained a number of artfully framed images (with iconic views of Redding) and just looked rich on screen. Lance’s instrumental music gave it a potent emotional punch.
Pretty inventive to cast a shopping cart as your main character and bring it to life like that.
The other category winners: “Matsutake” by Todd Dayton (documentary) and “I am Rodrigo” by Will Lascelles (experimental) were outstanding efforts as well.
Truthfully, there was something to love about every film we screened for the festival, which concluded today.
These are a few of my thoughts, but I’d love to hear what you thought of the films, the gala or the festival in general.
For some reason I’m thinking of that Humphrey Bogart line from “Casablanca”: “I think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship.”
