The time to appreciate cinema on the Central Coast is fast approaching with the return of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival heading into its 30th year.
Templeton native and Executive Director Skye McLennan has seen firsthand how the festival has reached new heights.
“I've grown up with the film festival and to be able to shepherd it into this anniversary year means the world,” McLennan said.
This year, the festival is featuring a total of 144 films, up from the 125 they showcased last year.
“As we grow as a festival, and we've grown over the last 30 years, people have come to know that we just have really high quality, amazing films,” McLennan said.
The local presence is greater than ever with more and more local filmmakers contributing to the festival, like Brook Munro, who wrote and produced "Harvest Call," a local film that tells the story of two vintage wines from Claiborne-Churchill.
“I think over the next four or five years, you're going to see the growth of filmmaking on the Central Coast expand exponentially,” Munro said.
The beautiful scenery of the Central Coast is also eye-catching for outside filmmakers, including actor Beau Bridges and director Jay Silverman, who shot the movie "Camera" in Morro Bay.
“All the filmmakers that come here to this little international film festival are just really receptive to talking there," Munro explained. "They love asking questions about this area and vice versa."
With it being an anniversary year, there are some special offerings at this year’s film festival.
In addition to the always popular Surf Nite highlighting surfing on the big screen, the festival will have — for the first time — a night dedicated to skateboarding culture with "Community of Skate: Dogtown and Z-Boys + 4DWN."
The festival is also releasing a 30th-anniversary series looking at 30 films selected by current and former members of the festival.
For those who can’t make it, there will be a showcase of screenings from the festival the following week, May 2-5, at Park Cinemas in Paso Robles.
“We're really excited about also expanding the festival into other parts of the county.”
The film festival takes place April 25-30 at the Fremont Theatre, Palm Theatre and Downtown Center Cinemas in San Luis Obispo.
For a full lineup of events, click here.
