ASHLEY WELLING
Staff Writer
The second annual Malibu Celebration of Film festival is returning to Pepperdine, bringing with it some of the industry’s most highly-acclaimed films. The event, which will include everything from film screenings to panel discussions, will run from Friday, Sept. 28 until Sunday, Sept. 30.
“FILMSCOOL,” a film competition that will highlight three short films by high school students and three short films by undergraduate students, will kick off this artistically rich event in Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre.
Smothers Theatre is one of many on-campus locations hosting the screenings. Others include Alumni Park, Raitt Recital Hall and Elkins Auditorium. Pepperdine serves as a co-sponsor of the event.
“Pepperdine and Malibu work together to help make this festival a possibility,” said Marnie Mitze, Pepperdine’s Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff. She will serve on the festival’s board of directors.
The festival’s opening film “Man in the Chair,” starring Christopher Plummer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Syriana”) and Robert Wagner (“Austin Powers” trilogy), will show at Calamigos Ranch, a 130-acre natural expanse in the Malibu Mountains, at 6 p.m. A dinner and gathering with some of the filmmakers and actors will follow the screening at Calamigos.
Saturday’s festivities start at noon in Elkins Auditorium with a screening of “Buddha’s Lost Children.” Seven other films will show on campus throughout the day. Sunday, Malibu Celebration of Film will conclude with a 7 p.m. showing of the environmental documentary, “Shark Water,” at Malibu Bluffs Park.
“This is a powerful piece to end with,” said the festival’s executive director, Kim Jackson, of “Shark Water,” which was directed by Rob Stewart. “Our goal here was to bring our awareness in the audience.”
Jackson and the event’s artistic director, Nancy Collet, selected the 11 films that will be featured at the Malibu Celebration of Film this year. They are fittingly known as “The Best of the Best” by filmmakers.
Among the 11 films are five documentaries and six feature films, which were chosen from countries all across the world. Last year, about 30 films were shown, making it more difficult for audiences to view as many as they may have liked.
Mitze said this year’s more rigorous selection process will hopefully prevent that from happening again.
“This year we really focused on quality, not quantity, when it came time to select which works would make it to the festival,” Mitze said.
“Cuttin Da Mustard,” directed by Reed R. McCants and starring Sinbad, is one of the many well-regarded and highly-decorated American films that will show at the celebrated film festival.
“The fact that this was a low-budget film, without all the special effects and flash that most modern-day movies contain, really helps the audience focus on the incredible story behind it,” Sinbad, who played “Bennie” in the film, said. He said he will be attending the festival.
In addition to improving the selection process, Jackson added that Malibu Celebration of Film has been working to better this year’s event, as attendance among Pepperdine students was not as strong as expected last year.
“Last year turned out very well, my only disappointment was the lack of Pepperdine students that showed up for the festival,” she said.
The festival was held during the Campus Retreat weekend. Despite the date, some students were able to take part in the celebration last year.
Senior Brea Cunningham volunteered at the festival and said she enjoyed participating in the weekend of events. She said she went to about 12 of the approximately 20 films that showed on campus.
“After most of the films, we could talk to the directors and ask them where they got their ideas and how long they’ve been involved in the business,” she said. “I really enjoyed it last year. I hope more people will come [this year].”
She encourages people to attend the festival, as there is much in which students can get involved. Outside of being able to view the featured films, panels were held and directors, writers and actors were in attendance with which people could speak. Actors like Lindsey Lohan and Virginia Madson and directors like Robert Altman, who was recognized at last year’s festival with the Malibu Courage Award for his contribution to the film in the community, were among the many celebrities in attendance.
“Every minute of every day there was something that you could go to or someone you could talk to,” she said. “I’m sure it will be the same this year.”
Jackson, who is preparing for Sunday’s closing ceremony at the Malibu Inn, said she hopes students take advantage of the fact that such a renowned event is so easily accessible.
“One of the things that separates the Malibu Film Festival from the rest is the simple dact that it is in Malibu,” Jackson said. “It is a beautiful backdrop for the array of artistic talkent we have to showcase.” For more information on the festival and its volunteer opportunities, visit www.mcof.org.
09-20-2007
