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Gold Country Sparkles with its Second Annual Film Festival by Steven Middlestein
Narrow-gauge railroad mounts the Sierras in the California gold country. photo: Sonora City Hall
With Hollywood’s star as bright as ever, California’s Gold Country isn’t a likely place to make a film anymore. But Gold Country has proven its film industry fire power over and over again through the years as a the backdrop to well over 300 movies and television series.
Some of the better known ones are "High Noon", "Little House on the Prairie", "Back to the Future 3" and "Hidalgo." One fact is that Tuolumne County was one of THE places to make a film and that fact hasn’t been lost on many people. It still has a mystique and charm and it continues to draw visitors to the area, especially since it’s so close to Yosemite National Park.
Another fact is: Once upon a time in the West—OK, Tuolumne County—there was a huge festival called the Wild West Film Fest (abbrev. intended) and it took place every year in Sonora for over a decade. Lots of A-list celebrities came from all over to be part of it. Alas, when the main organizer passed away, all of his personal contacts in Hollywood went with him.
That was in the 90s. Fast-forward to today where the state of New Mexico and our neighbors to the north in Canada have become what Tuolumne County once was, a backdrop for big budget films and television series. But the spark of the gold in them thar hills ain’t gone. Indeed, major films and television commercials are still being made in the area and now there’s an ambitious young film festival that’s starting to attract Hollywood's gaze again.
The ITSA Film Festival was started in 2010 to support the film club at Connections Visual & Performing Arts Academy, a high school in Tuolumne County, which was named a California Distinguished School in 2007. In the inaugural year, several student films and films by select invitee filmmakers were also shown. Proceeds helped support the students’ own annual film festival that just took place this past May.
Performing Arts high school student Bethany Wilkenson shooting "Jane," one of the festival's films, in the now defunct surgery room of Tuolumne County General Hospital this spring. photo: courtesy ITSA Film Fest
In 2008 the school received a Bronze Medal rank from U.S. News & World Report, which annually releases a listing of the top 100 U.S. colleges and high schools. In fact, ITSA founders, David & Christina Wilkinson, watched their own daughter, Bethany, flourish at the high school and now she’s off to UC Santa Cruz to major in, guess what, film production!
“After being so involved with the school, we grew closer to these amazingly talented kids,” says Christina, “The talent is definitely there, but they just needed a platform to showcase their talents outside of the school.” She formed an advisory board with individuals interested in seeing the festival grow not only for showcasing local film students, but also for independent filmmakers to showcase their short films and animations.
The festival which runs for two days starting on September 30th, begins with a free workshop for high school and college-aged students and it goes in to the opening night Gala which includes dinner and guest speakers who work in the industry. Hollywood screenwriter, Stephen David Brooks, and an unnamed but confirmed guest speaker from ILM are set to be part of the Q&A panel for the night as guest speakers.
As a great surprise to many locals, ITSA also secured the rights to screen the 2011 Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA) honoree films. The ECA’s own event takes place on September 25 at the Director’s Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles. Christina told us, “It’s a special treat to a small, up-and-coming festival like ours to get these films even before their own New York event.” One of these 8 short films stars Jason Alexander.
Poster from "The Dead & the Damned," or in the UK "Cowboys & Zombies," directed by Rene Perez, of Emeryville, and shot in Gold Country. photo: courtesy ITSA Film Fest
ITSA has already received over 60 film submissions from all over the world and will continue to receive them until September 4th. Several accepted films feature well-known actors. One of the films stars actress, Christine Elise of the original 90210. “Bathing and the Single Girl”, also produced by Elise, has already garnered attention on an international level. Another film features Ian Nicholson who had a bit part in "X-Men Origins" and hails from Australia. Many of the films are world premieres and many are already award-winning.
The festival also features professional level workshops for filmgoers as well as makers. One of the instructors, Judy Berlin, has worked with Disney and Nickelodeon and done voiceovers for Sesame Street since the mid-80s. Other workshops include film distribution, stunts, acting for television for kids and how to shoot a documentary, among others. According to a post on ITSA’s Facebook Page by Erin Neal of Seattle: “Saw your lineup for the workshops, wicked awesome!”
While some of the old attendees of the Wild West Film Fest may quite get that, and the festival is not be coming back, the ITSA Film Festival is certainly showing that Tuolumne County's Hollywood gold is still shining in the towns of Sonora and Groveland only a three hours drive from the Bay Area. For the full festival schedule of events including workshops and the opening night Gala, visit the festival's site. Posted on Aug 22, 2011 - 11:47 PM