Legendary actress Katharine Ross will join The Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra to perform the exciting true story of “Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express,” before introducing the 1969 classic, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, on Saturday, November 17, 2018 at the Fremont Theatre, in San Luis Obispo, CA.

This special fall fundraiser is presented by BHE Renewables, and sponsored by New Times, Luis Wine Bar and American General Media.

Katharine Ross is an acclaimed, award-winning American film and stage actress who is renowned for her performances in two of the most popular films of the late 1960’s. She played the role of Elaine Robinson in The Graduate, for which she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for an Academy Award. She also played Etta Place in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. Additionally, Katharine starred in The Stepford Wives (1975), won a second Golden Globe Award for Voyage of the Damned (1976) and co-starred in the cult classic Donnie Darko (2001) with Jake Gyllenhall.

In 1984, Katharine Ross married actor Sam Elliott. They met in London on a movie, The Legacy and have worked together on several projects. They co-wrote and starred in Louis L’Amour’s Conagher. They also co-starred in The Shadow Riders, Murder in Texas and most recently in The Hero,  released in 2017.

The acclaimed five-piece Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra will accompany Katharine Ross as she recounts the exciting true story of Kate Shelley, a fifteen-year-old Iowa teenager who helped avert a train disaster in 1881 and went on to become a national heroine. Based on Mary Kay Shanley’s spoken short story, it was originally written for the Wonder of Words Festival in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra wowed audiences in November 2014 at the SLO Masonic Lodge.

This new version will feature Katharine Ross as the story-teller and composer Maria Newman’s original music. This will be the orchestra’s fourth visit to San Luis Obispo after impressing audiences at past Festival fundraising events, including Daddy Long Legs and last year’s Silent Shorts event at the Madonna Inn.

After a short intermission, Katharine Ross will join a notable film expert on the Fremont Theatre stage for a conversation about her career and her role in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, the 1970 Academy Award winner that is still considered one of the best Westerns of all time. This timeless classic stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the true-life outlaws in the early 1900’s, and Katharine Ross as the lovely free spirit whose charm bewitched the outlaws…as well as audiences then and now.

After this unique introduction to the film, audiences will enjoy 1969’s digitally restored Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, on the Big Screen at the Fremont Theatre. The film is rated PG so this is a perfect event for families of all ages.

There will be an opportunity to meet Katharine Ross at a small reception before the event at Luis Wine Bar, directly behind the Fremont Theatre. Appetizers, wine and beer will be available from 5:30-6:30pm for this private meet-and-greet and limited tickets are available for the reception and movie/music event.

Tickets are on sale now! $25 to celebrate our 25 years of Film, Wine and Fun!

Proceeds from this Fall Fundraiser will directly support the 25^th Annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, happening March 12-17, 2019. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for this event, and the 2019 SLO Film Fest. Contact chris@slofilmfest.org for more information.

Thanks to Bob Shanbrom and the Shanbrom Family Foundation, we are very excited to bring back a series of films that were screened last March during the festival.

This time we are partnering with the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art where there will be a show on display from September 21-October 28. Called Coastal Awakening: An Esalen Perspective, their show will feature paintings, sculpture, photography and film by ten artists who either taught at, worked at or were inspired by Esalen. More info at sloma.org.

On Saturday, October 20, the SLO Film Fest will present a series of films from 1-7pm, that all connect in one way or another to the Coastal Awakening theme.

A cultural movement that has been continually evolving on the Central Coast for nearly a century, it is best described as the art, music and literature that celebrate the interplay of our magical landscape with the liberation/personal growth/human potential movement. From the Dunites to the Big Sur Beats, Esalen seekers, writers, artists, surfers and hippies, it continues to manifest in the unique and diverse lifestyles, arts and avocations of the people of the Central Coast.

October 20 Movie Schedule:

1:00pm   PULL MY DAISY – 26 min. short comedy (1959)
and HOWL – 84 min. biography/drama ((2010)

4:00pm   THE SOURCE: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation
88 min. documentary (1999)

7:00pm   THE SANDPIPER – 2 hr. drama starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1965)

Admission is free with a suggested donation of $15 for each screening, with proceeds going directly to underwrite the 2019 SLO Film Fest.

We are delighted to announce that Sandra Duerr has joined the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Board of Directors, after recently retiring from a very successful 19-year tenure as Executive Editor and Vice-President of The Tribune. Under her leadership, The Tribune was recognized for its public service journalism, including its in-depth reporting on a number of important Central Coast issues. During this time, The Tribune won more than 300 state, regional and national awards, including three McClatchy President’s Awards, the company’s top honor.

Duerr, who was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University in 1989-90, was president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 1991-92, where she established the Gary L. Klott Journalism Ethics Fund in 2003 in memory of her late husband. She has been a Pulitzer Prize juror three times and was given the Knight Ridder General Excellence Award in 2000 for her accomplishments at The Tribune. She is an adjunct journalism professor at Cal Poly and is a member of the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Before moving here in 1998, Duerr was a reporter and editor at newspapers in Wisconsin, New Jersey and Kentucky.

Duerr is very excited to join the SLO Film Fest board to assist with its growth and development in future years, and we’re excited to get her involved!

We are now scheduling short interviews with long-time volunteers, sponsors and SLO Film Fest festival goers who would like to be part of a series of short videos to help promote our upcoming 25th Anniversary.

If you’d like to participate, please contact us at info@slofilmfest.org so we can get your comments about the festival either on video or audio. We’ll be shooting on Saturday, September 15th and each interview will only take 15-20 minutes! Hope to hear from you soon!

LOCAL MOVIE/THEATRE EVENTS HAPPENING SOON!

You may have heard about the movie that was shot in SLO County last summer, starring Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder?

Apple Farm and the Downtown Centre Cinemas present a special reception and screening of the feature film, Destination Wedding. Help celebrate this “local” movie that was filmed at the Apple Farm and other parts of San Luis Obispo County. Your ticket includes the screening of the film at the Downtown Center Cinemas and a pre-reception with wine tasting courtesy of Claiborne and Churchill, a special dessert trio from the Apple Farm Bakery, a small popcorn per guest and entry into a raffle to win a one night stay in the Millhouse Suite featured in the film!

Tickets are $25 per person plus ticketing fees.  Guests can purchase them here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/destination-wedding-reception-screening-tickets-49453223924

Destination Wedding is the story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay and Frank, who develop a mutual affection despite themselves. The film is rated R and is 1h 30min long. Doors will open for the reception in the Downtown Centre Cinemas lobby at 6pm and the movie will start at 7pm. Ticket holders must be 21 years of age or older.

Movie & theatre lovers…this one’s for you!

Moonlight and Magnolias, Ron Hutchinson’s Off-Broadway comic celebration of one of the greatest movies of all time, opens Friday, September 21 and runs through September 30, at the Park Ballroom, 1232 Park Street in downtown Paso Robles.

Wine Country Theatre continues its fourth season with the zany stage comedy directed by Lisa Woske. This wildly funny and engaging tale illuminates the behind-the-scenes business of movie-making during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

For tickets go to winecountrytheatre.com or call 800-838-3006!

Thanks to the talents and hard work of Cambria residents (and students!) Carlos and Kyle Plummer, and their amazing parents, Jeff and Lilliana, we have a new promotional video to unveil! This intrepid video team was here, there and everywhere at the 2018 festival and they managed to capture the energy, excitement and fun that our Festival embodies during those wild & crazy six days in March.

Check out the short promo video they have created and you might even see yourself! Major thanks to the Plummer family for another epic video!

Thanks to Bob Shanbrom and the Shanbrom Family Foundation, we are very excited to bring back a series of films that were screened last March during the festival.

This time we are partnering with the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art where there will be a show on display from September 21-October 28. Called Coast Awakening: An Esalen Perspective, their show will feature paintings, sculpture, photography and film by ten artists who either taught at, worked at or were inspired by Esalen. More info at sloma.org.

Howl, starring James Franco as Allen Ginsburg

On Saturday, October 20, the SLO Film Fest will present a series of films from 1-7pm, that all connect in one way or another to the Coastal Awakening theme.

A cultural movement that has been continually evolving on the Central Coast for nearly a century, it is best described as the art, music and literature that celebrate the interplay of our magical landscape with the liberation/personal growth/human potential movement. From the Dunites to the Big Sur Beats, Esalen seekers, writers, artists, surfers and hippies, it continues to manifest in the unique and diverse lifestyles, arts and avocations of the people of the Central Coast.

October 20 Movie Schedule:

1:00pm   PULL MY DAISY – 26 min. short comedy (1959)
and HOWL – 84 min. biography/drama ((2010)

4:00pm   THE SOURCE: The Story of the Beats and the Beat Generation
88 min. documentary (1999)

7:00pm   THE SANDPIPER – 2 hr. drama starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1965)

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton star in “The Sandpiper,” filmed in Big Sur in 1965.

Admission is free with a suggested donation of $15 for each screening, with proceeds going directly to underwrite the 2019 SLO Film Fest.

We are very excited about our upcoming 25^th Silver Screen Anniversary and want to celebrate our cinematic history…with your help!

Festival Founder Mary Harris, and the first King Vidor Award recipient, film director/producer, George Sidney.

If you’ve been coming to the SLO Film Fest for a while and/or have been a long-time volunteer or sponsor…we’d love to hear from you. Using video, audio and just plain old written words, we’d like to share your memories and experiences from the past 25 years, starting way back with the first San Luis Obispo International Film Festival in 1993.

Please reply with your responses to the following questions and let us know if you’d be willing to do a short video interview. If you’re shy, we can also just record your voice.

We plan to produce a series of short videos and sound bites to use in our promotion for the next festival. No pressure…but just think! This could be your 15 seconds of fame!

Thanks so much for your participation, and for your support of this great festival that many say just keeps getting better and better!

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. Copy them into an email to info@slofilmfest.org, or call (805) 546-3456 and leave a voice mail with your responses.

Name:
Email:
Phone:

(Please limit each response to a short paragraph)

When did you start volunteering/attending/sponsoring the festival?

What is your favorite festival memory?

Why do you love the SLO Film Fest?

Would you be willing to do a short video interview?

Would you prefer to do an audio-only interview instead?

We’ll be in touch by email after collecting input and will schedule a short meeting with you in late August/early September if you’re interested.

Thanks again,

Wendy Eidson                    Grace Tucker                           Skye McLennan
SLO Film Fest Director        Assistant to the Director          Special Projects Coordinator

Happy summer! Hope you’re finding ways to handle heat wherever you may be!

The SLO Film Fest is excited to announce that we are now accepting new films for the 2019 Festival and we look forward to finding an exciting new program of movies and special guests in the coming months.

All details for submitting to our three competition categories can be found by clicking here. There is the George Sidney Independent Film Competition open to filmmakers all over the world, any film genre or length is acceptable. Then there’s the Central Coast Filmmaker Showcase, open to filmmakers (writer, director and/or producer) who live in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara or Monterey counties. We also have a youth-oriented category called Filmmakers of Tomorrow, and that is open to young filmmakers 18 yrs. and younger.

If you’re a movie lover who thinks you’d be a good addition to our Screening Committee, we will be looking to add new people in the fall, so please send us an email to let us know you’re interested. We look for a wide variety of people with eclectic tastes, so we’ll send you an application with some information about this volunteer position. Please send your enquiry to info@slofilmfest.org with “Screener” in the subject heading.

I’m delighted to announce that we have a new staff member and a new board member joining our team for the 2019 season!

Grace Tucker with a couple of happy “Filmmakers of Tomorrow” at the 2018 Festival.

Cal Poly grad, Grace Tucker, worked with us last year as a Festival Assistant and was quickly dubbed “Amazing Grace” by staff and volunteers. Grace was just promoted to Assistant to the Director, and former incredible Assistant Nancy Ross Joynt will be focusing on Volunteer Coordination and assisting Grace when needed. Chris Aho continues as Development Director, John Wildman as publicist and Barry Goyette will create more inspired designs and photography for our special 25th Anniversary festival. What a team!

Of course that team also includes a dedicated board of directors and we are very excited to welcome Christine Williams this year!

Christine Williams was born and raised in Chicago, Il, and moved to Pismo Beach in 2011 with her husband Bob. Christine had retired from a successful 30-year career as a health care business development executive, working at CIGNA, United HealthGroup, Medline and CVS. She particularly excelled at, and enjoyed working with, Fortune 500 companies, employer alliances and joint ventures.

A passionate supporter of the Arts, Christine has served on various Theatre Boards including the Raven Theatre located in Chicago, Solvang Theaterfest (Solvang, CA), and SLORep (formerly: SLO Little Theatre. She and Bob have been fervent supporters of the SLO Film Festival, volunteering in various roles and Bob has been thrilled to have a few of his films shown as part of the Central Coast Filmmakers’ Showcase.

An urban dweller in Chicago throughout her life, Christine has an intense and impassioned sense of community. She is excited about the opportunity to use her sales skills and love of “the hunt” to help the Film Festival raise funds for its wonderful contributions towards enhancing the culture of the San Luis Obispo area.

To find out more about all of our exemplary board of directors, click here!

Lastly, I am happy to share this fun memory of our last festival’s Women Belong in the Kitchen event which was turned into an episode for Teri Bayus’ foodie cable show, “Tastebuds.” The event brought together a wonderful mix of female Central Coast chefs, restaurant owners and wine makers, as well as the film and filmmaker that inspired the event – Joanna James and A FINE LINE. To relive the fun of that Sunday afternoon event, click here!

That’s it for now! Stay tuned for news coming soon about a few fall fundraising events you won’t want to miss.

Stay out of the heat…and I’ll see you at the movies!

Wendy Eidson
SLO Film Fest Director

Join us for the “hanging” tonight (Wednesday, May 30) at 5pm!

We’ll toast the 2008 commemorative Surf Nite poster and its new owner, Mark Woolpert! Poster designer and Surf Nite coordinator Tim Eidson will be there, along with some long-time Surf Nite sponsors, including some City of Pismo Beach council members.

Wooly’s Beach Bar & Grill is located at 101 Pomeroy, Pismo Beach and Happy Hour is 4-7pm. Hope to see some Surf Nite devotees there!

Congratulations to William Pendergrass who won two tickets to Orchestra Novo’s special event by answering the question: Director Steven Spielberg collaborated with a number of women in key positions on this award-winning film. Name at least two of them. The answer was Kathleen Kennedy (producer), Melissa Mathison (writer) and/or Carol Littleton (editor.)

Experience all the mystery and fun of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, director Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming masterpiece that has captivated audiences around the world. Film and studio conductor Michael Nowak will lead his full symphony orchestra to play John Williams’ Academy Award®-winning score with the film projected on a huge HD screen!

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to see this great classic with Hollywood conductor Michael Nowak and his talented orchestra! Tickets are available now for this unique family-friendly event, happening Sunday, May 27th at 7pm. Click here for tickets. See promotional ad below!

We have two more tickets to randomly select from anyone who can answer our new trivia question. This one’s a little harder and the question is:

E.T. at first says “E.T. Home Phone.” But which character in the movie first says the classic line, “E.T. Phone Home,” which became one of the most quotable movie lines of all time?

Send your answers to info@slofilmfest.org with TICKET GIVEAWAY in the subject heading.

Good luck & see you at the movies!

Wendy Eidson
SLO Film Fest Director