THE 2ND SEBASTOPOL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
By Gil Mansergh

I’ve had the joy of working as the “Film Critic in Residence,” with the enthusiastic and hard-working Program Committee for this year’s Doc-Fest in Sebastopol, and can truthfully say that this event is really outstanding.

“Film festivals have their own personalities,” says Jason Perdue, program director of this year’s Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival (SDFF). “I recently returned from Sundance, and I can say with pride that our own hometown film-fest reflects the involved, artistic and fun-loving lifestyle of Sebastopol.”

“It’s a filmmakers’ festival as well,” adds Eliza Hemenway who was the festival’s founder. ” Everyone on the program committee has practical experience creating or showcasing excellence in filmmaking. We started with nearly 300 entries and selected only 26 features and 16 shorts. The films we chose to honor March 6th through 8th, are truly outstanding, and the filmmakers understand what this means. Over twenty of them will be at the festival to meet and greet attendees. “

“We had so many strong films this year, it was hard for the jury to select the winners,” says Teresa Book Webster who is serving a second time on the SDFF Program Committee. “We narrowed it down to a half dozen features and shorts and watched them again. Then we had some heated debates arguing the strengths and weaknesses of different contenders “especially the final two features. At the last moment, Gil suggested to his fellow critic Eliza that they could solve the impasse by selecting a Film Critic’s Award film together. So they shook hands, and the problem was solved.”

“What I love as well, is that our festival offers so much in addition to the movies,” continues Linda Galletta, director of the sponsoring Sebastopol Center for the Arts (SCA). “We’ll have food and wine, a Latino program and salsa band, an historic women’s program and quilt exhibit honoring women artists, a chance to hear how an Oscar and Emmy-winning composer creates his music, and the opportunity to mingle with legendary filmmakers while eating raw oysters paired with hand-grown teas “where else can you find so many choices?”

“That’s because of the enthusiastic support from our venue providers,” says Jason. “In addition to screening rooms at the SCA and the Sebastopol Cinemas, we’ll be showing films and offering food at the French Garden Restaurant, Viva Culinary Institute, and the Hopmonk Tavern. It’s going to be a very busy weekend.”

To help you decide which films and special events you want to see, here are some highlights:

The FRIDAY at 7:00 PM Opening Night Films include Eliza Hemenway hosting the SDFF Jury Award Winner, “Motherland,” food expert Michele Anna Jordan hosting “Eating Alaska,” musician Marcus James hosting “Heavy Load,” and Jason Perdue hosting “The Meaning of Tea.” Admission to any of the four programs includes the reception at the SCA hosted by Moondance Cellars , Tandem Wines, Whole Foods Market and the French Garden Restaurant.

SATURDAY at 11:30 AM has several choices: The SDFF Critic’s Award Winner, “School Play” where we meet some extraordinary, ordinary Fifth graders as they practice and perform “The Wizard of Oz,” or “Katrina’s Children,” the most poignant film in the festival, where nineteen children use art therapy to share their nightmares, hopes and dreams.

SATURDAY at 2:00 PM has some difficult decisions for ticket buyers to make: The “Composing for Docs” program presents Oscar and Emmy Award winning composer Todd Boekelheide sharing the creative process of making music for films like the SDFF selection “Soldiers of Conscience.” An Environmental Showcase features novelist, screenwriter, and Sonoma State Professor of Native American Studies, Greg Sarris hosting “Upstream Battle,” where Five Klamath River tribes confront billionaire Warren Buffet about tearing down his hydroelectric dams which are destroying salmon fishing on the river. And the Les Blank Showcase where films by and about the fabled documentary filmmaker include “All In This Tea,” made by Blank and co-director Gina Leibrecht which follows tea expert David Lee Hoffman to China’s remote villages in search of the perfect handmade tea, and “Raw” where Shelly Roby records Les as he shucks oysters and reflects upon food and film. The Les Blank program is being shown at the French Garden Restaurant which will offer a special menu immediately following the film offering raw oysters, paired wines, and specialty teas

The SATURDAY at 7:00 PM programs include: Director Jon Else being honored at the screening of his amazing “Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic,” which documents the creation of composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars opera about Robert Oppenheimer and the making of the atomic bomb. Or join Lorena Gomez-Barris from “Cine Accion” hosting the Latino Program as the Hopmonk Tavern transforms into a “cantina de cine “when it screens films about Peruvian artists in “Against the Grain,” Columbian families in “Uprooted” and Andean ice harvesters in “Shikashika.”

SATURDAY at 9:30 PM, the Hopmonk Tavern is the site of the SDFF Filmmakers Party with Cuyuy providing the music of the Andes and the amazing super-orchestra, Boogaloo band, Los Fulanos, offering thevibrant salsa and funk fusion sounds from the national Spanish music scene.

SUNDAY at 1:00 PM presents s the International Women’s Day Program with Tommie Dell Smith hosting filmmakers Connie Field and Pat Ferrero as they present their “Rosie the Riveter” and “Quilts in Women’s Lives.” This is in conjunction with “Quilts In Women’s Lives “2009,” an invitational quilt exhibit curated by Karen Mansergh and including works by some of Sonoma County’s internationally renowned artists, and featuring the first public display of the twenty-panel quilt “Along the Russian River”

SUNDAY at 3:30 PM, has Jason Perdue hosting a special pairing of the SDFF Jury Award Winners, “Motherland,” with “Bob’s Knee.” While I will be hosting films which ask the Culture Clash Questions: “When a polo horse owner moves from Mexico to San Francisco, what happens to the horse’s groom?” (in “How to Cross a Border”), and “What happens when the Germans decide to build a landing strip in some Romanian sheepherders pastures?” (in “The Flying Shepard”).

As you can see, the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival has created some tough decisions for which programs to choose on the first weekend in March. To order tickets, you can phone the Sebastopol Center for the Arts
(707) 829-4797 or go online to sebastopolfilmfestival.org