Fallbrook Film Festival

Nancy and I attended the Fallbrook Film Festival last weekend. It was surprisingly enjoyable and professional for such a small town. We didn't have time to see all the many films that were being screened but some of the few we saw were excellent.

Two of our favorites were " Help" directed by Val Lauren. A suspenseful story of a young man's desperate attempt to save his dying mother. Depressing but good.

Another that we really liked was "The Last Page", a writer attempting to overcome writer's block with really funny results. It was written directed by Kevin Acevedo. He was there and we were able to tell him how much we liked it. This film was one of several by Chapman University film students. They were all good.

Other Chapman films were "Jackson" directed by Mark Jwayad, " Latter Day Fakes" directed by Jolie Hales, "Bean" directed by Giovanna Federico, "Jewsus"-( really funny) directed by Benjmin Bliss, "Eater" (a really good horror film) directed by Ross Duffer.

Films were even entered from foreign countries. "La Camera Obscura" from Argentina. Nancy commented that it could have used some editing. In other words it was waaaay too long. "Chaturanga" from India, also too long but good. Both of these films were shown in our local coffee house Caffe Primo where we were able to watch them while drinking lattes and lounging on couches. Otherwise they would have really been unbearably long.

"Thinking Grande" was an interesting documentary about a man who emigrated here from Mexico and built a beautiful amusement park to recreate places that were nostalgic to him from his hometown. He did a great job but neglected to get any building permits. When they caught up with him he was so discouraged that he went back to Mexico. His son is now in charge of it but so far they haven't gotten the permits and it's sitting there empty. There's still hope and several interested people trying to help. Some of the craftsmanship was so georgeous- the bandstand for instance. It's going to be shown on PBS, so watch for it.

Most of the screenings were in the Mission Theater which was still being used for movies when I first moved here in the 80's. Now it's used for plays and special occasions. When our company was in the craft kit making business we had about 20 employees and we had an awards banquet at this theater. It was quite a memorable affair. Everyone dressed up in gowns and tuxedos. Our shipping clerk and his date arrived in a limousine. The catering was done from the candy counter- but was a full dinner. After the awards were given out we had a band and dancing on the stage.
It still has some of it's original decor including these seats.