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March 15, 2004
Cinequest 14 Wrap-up
Ealasaid looks back at the festival now that it's over.
Cinequest 14: A Personal Perspective
Ealasaid A. Haas
Cinequest, San Jose's annual film festival celebrating the maverick spirit, ran from March 3 through March 14 of this year. As you may have guessed from the capsule reviews published over the last few weeks, your humble reviewer spent the last week and a half watching as many movies as humanly possible. Cinequest 14 was a phenomenal event, and those who weren't able to make it down to San Jose for any of the films should definitely mark their calendars for next March and watch www.cinequest.org for updates on the schedule for Cinequest 15.
Cinequest is a marvelous experience: a rare opportunity for folks in this area to see independent films without having to drive up to San Francisco. Cinequest is made up of films of every stripe from documentaries to dramas, comedies to heartbreaking tragedies. They come from the heart of their makers, because independent films usually aren't big money – these are films made by people who really cared about their projects.
This festival is run by volunteers, and although there were numerous technical problems scattered through the screenings the volunteers stayed cheerful and nearly all of the 68 films scheduled were shown. It's a lot of fun to stroll in the cool evening air from one screening to another and think about the fact that these films would be almost impossible to find if not for festivals like Cinequest.
Many of the films shown were delightful, and all of them were interesting or unusual. "Dorian Blues" in particular is worth mentioning – this coming-of-age story is a funny and at times heartwrenching study of a young gay man trying to make it out of high school with his sanity intact. The documentaries shown were also a pleasure, particularly the thoughtful study of Imelda Marcos, "Imelda", and the quiet and moving "Story of the Weeping Camel." The shorts programs were well-chosen, and the forums were packed with information for folks interested in the process of making an independent film.
If you have a good internet connection, many of the shorts and several of the features are available for secure download at www.cinequestonline.org and you can read capsule reviews of the films W. Fred Crow and myself saw at www.ealasaid.com/cineblog2004/ Cinequest was a great festival, and although I'm exhausted from the strain of seeing and writing about 25 films in only a couple of weeks, it was a lot of fun.
Posted by Ealasaid at March 15, 2004 02:08 PM
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