Mukul  Khurana

San Diego Experience

The Fifth Annual San Diego Film Festival Begins

Opening Night in the Gaslamp Quarter
By Mukul  Khurana
Posted on Wed, Sep 27th, 2006
Last updated Fri, Sep 29th, 2006

Question: What do the "beach" at the W Hotel San Diego and Astoria, NY have in common? Answer: The Fifth Annual San Diego Film Festival. The San Diego Film Festival Launch Party took place on the sands of W Hotel San Diego a week ago. Robin Laatz, the Executive Director, was there (well, she had to be...). Robin and Karl Kozak have usually been involved in this venture together. But this time, Karl was distracted by the making of his own film.

A transplant of Pittsburg, Robin comes from a marketing/PR background and it shows. Though her experiences were gained in the Department Store arena, Karl and Robin decided that San Diego needed another film festival. Some people argued that San Diego had enough film festivals (we do have the San Diego Asian Film Festival, the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and a few others). But they didn't listen. As a result, we had the well-attended opening night film A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS.

If you had attended the launch party or the opening night film, it would have been quickly apparent that event planning skills are being put to good use here. And, we have indeed "come a long way baby." The first film festival was self-funded. This time, half a million dollars in cash or in kind services were floating around (mainly high profile sponsors). Publicity and marketing are in evidence at the SDFF. But film festivals aren't only about money. As the title implies, films have something to do with it.

For one, there is the issue of selection. If selected, a film can gain exposure to two screenings with 200 viewers at a pop--not too shabby. What kind of hoops did the 1,100 entries go through to get that kind of exposure? A group of 12-15 people sit through most of the films until about 550 films are left. From those, the number has to be further culled down to around 250 or so. Because the aim is about a 100 films, obviously more works goes into discussing and judging.

But the main question on everyone's mind is "What's New?" this year? SDFF has paired up with the House of Blues to focus on music and film. Under the heading of "One's to Watch," something new is evolving. Watch for it on Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 at the House of Blues. The Women Filmmaker's Series starts its first year at SDFF. Films and Q&A sessions will provide insight into the role of women in the film industry. Last but not least, this is the second year of the Native American Series sponsored by Sychuan.

Also worth mentioning, the iVIE--Innovative Videos in Education, are the products of students in grades K-12. If you want to see the directors of tomorrow, support the children of today. Yes, we understandthe role the W Hotel plays for the festival. But, where does Astoria fit in? Dito Montiel wrote and directed the film mentioned above. It takes place in Astoria and it deals with family, relationships, and making peace with the past. There is more, but then you'd have nothing to look forward to tomorrow... P.S. San Diego is on the map when it comes to film festivals.

Mukul Khurana is a writer who mainly covers art and culture events. Film festivals are his passion. He is involved in the travel, PR, and marketing fields. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About the author: Mukul Khurana is a writer with a background in teaching, editing, and PR. Presently, he specializes in sales and marketing for the travel industry.
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Comments

Posted by happycap	Thu, Sep 28th, 2006
I purchased 4 ticket to see John Mayer and Sheryl Crow at the Embarcadero Park in San Diego and was under the impression we would be sitting on the grass on our blankets and be able to see the performers. WELL, we arrived early laid out our blanket and went to buy dinner and drinks to celebrate my birthday. We came back and enjoyed ourselves until the concert began. People crammed themselves into every square inch. We were shoulder to shoulder, couldn't see the stage at all because there were so many people it was rediculous!! The only reason I could see that this concert venue did not put out chairs to sit on is so they could cram in 3 to 4 times as many people. We left early and were very upset over the whole expericence. I paid $70 X 4 to have my birthday party at this concert only to have the worst time EVER at a concert. I have been to Humphrey's, Coors Ampitheater, San Diego State University, and the Del Mar Fair and have NEVER experience a more disorganized, rude, uncomfortable, awful time. I would like a refund OR credit toward another concert in the future to make it up to my friends. I have the tickets saved on my computer and can send you copies if you like. The concert was September 26, 2006. I would like to tell all my friends that ticketmaster or Viejas did the right thing by refunding me for an event that was so totally misleading in how the whole expericence was to be set up. Thank you,

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