Lights, camera, action!
For three decades, Sacramento has celebrated and highlighted some of the best international films and local cinema.
The Sacramento International Film Festival will celebrate its summer session this weekend, starting on Friday, Aug. 29, at the California Railroad Museum.
The event promises a diverse array of local filmmakers, short films, horror, comedy, Black and Latino filmmakers, and a gala.
According to the executive director of the film festival, Martin Anaya, the idea behind the festival is to give the capital region an event that people could be proud of.
“As Sacramento's original festival of cinema, our mission is to be a catalyst for a greater appreciation of the cinema arts, but also for a greater appreciation of diverse people and cultures, using cinema as that art form to do it,” Anaya said. “The goal really is to enrich Sacramento's cultural environment, and we've, I think, done that.”
This year, the festival will feature entire segments based on local filmmakers from Northern California. One of the local filmmakers is Emmy award-winning producer Mark S. Allen, who will be bringing his new thriller film “Don't Answer” with him.
“Mark has just really been able to tickle audiences with this one,” Anaya said. “Don't Answer was shot literally right around the corner in the town of Nicolaus, and it was using mostly Sacramento talent. So that one is going to be a major feature that is actually going to be released in theaters in October.”
The film is about “when your delivery driver is your worst fear come to life,” Allen wrote on Facebook. It’s a movie about a childhood predator who was in an overcrowded asylum, but now they've let him go on into society where he is intent on making the population zero.
The films are presented by the festival and the California Film Foundation, and according to Anaya, they’re also celebrating Cine Latino, the Sacramento International Latino Film Festival, and Cine Soul, the Sacramento International Black Film Festival.
“Cine Soul has stood as a beacon for African American cinema, earning a national reputation for showcasing stories of power, passion and purpose,” communications intern Piper Rea wrote in an email. “For nearly two decades, Cine Soul has celebrated world-class storytelling that amplifies the Black experience through film, culture and community.”
Anaya said one of movies he’s excited about will be coming from Cine Soul and filmmaker Pernell Walker who will debut their movie called “Love is Blind.” Walker is a former intern of Anaya’s who left Sacramento to go to Los Angeles, but is now back.
“This wonderful little comedy that she set up is absolutely just a gem,” he said. “For me, personally, it's kind of good to see somebody that has gone to Hollywood, conquered working in the industry, and now she's kind of bringing her new work back.”
The festival is usually 10 days, but since the pandemic, the organizers now hold several events throughout the year.
There will be a gala experience the first day of the festival where all of the filmmakers will get together and celebrate.
“If you want to rub elbows with any of these filmmakers, that would be a good time to do it,” Anaya said.
The gala is a $30 entrance for the public. But if you sign up to become a member of the organization, they’ll let you into the gala for free. There will also be an underground afterparty following the gala.
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