Within the busy streets of Downtown Ventura’s Artwalk festival, the Knights of Columbus Hall on 36 Figueroa St. hosted the second year of Ventura’s Cinefest on Saturday Sept. 27 and Sunday Sept. 28 . Both local youth and experienced foreign filmmakers were featured in blocks of youth, drama, comedy, animation and horror, with featured movies from iconic directors like Charlie Chaplin.
The organizer, Ethan Messecar, says the Cinefest has grown from its first year, now featuring youth films, including those of Buena students Avery Buehner, Santiago Lee-Baez, Francesca Martinez, Kashika Rana and Luna Rose.
“[The film scene in Ventura] is very indie, very rough and tumble and very passionate. It’s about having fun,” Messecar said. He emphasized his admiration for the local “DIY” mindset seen throughout the youth block and into the more experienced artists.
For the filmmakers themselves, Lee-Baez’s experience with the Cinefest has been a journey of finding his confidence as a creator, something that inspired the film he featured this year, “The Audience.”
“I think if you watch [“The Audience”] you’ll know [the message],” Lee-Baez said. “I think we all make art initially for ourselves, so it’s a form of self-expression, and after a certain point it can become this fear of people watching you.In actuality, [your] art is supposed to be for you.”
“The Audience” is an honest story of self-identity and intentions as an artist, filmed within Buena’s campus, reflecting Lee-Baez’s own journey as a director, writer and creative human being.
“I made [this film] with my friends, people I’m very close with, so I had a lot of fun,” Lee-Baez said.
The horror block featured films shot in the perspective of digital, video home style (VHS) and film cameras that all captured the eerie dread when watching a scary movie. One of the films, “What’s This?”, directed by Alexandria Greiling, demonstrates a complex blend of comedy, drama and horror. The film is vibrantly colorful and intriguing, combining a vintage feel with modern world problems.
Greiling expressed how the Cinefest gave her an opportunity to highlight women’s roles in the horror genre, which she feels can go unappreciated.
“I just want to beat male film directors. I want to be one of the females in horror that pushes limits,” Greiling said.
Similarly to Lee-Baez, Greiling’s own personal experience and friendships were heavily incorporated into the writing, directing, filming and plotline of her film.
“So much goes into [making horror movies]. I got inspiration from things happening in my apartment building,” the same place that the film itself was shot by her and her friends.
Though all the directors came from unique backgrounds, cultures and intentions, it’s apparent that they found common ground in their passion for creating stories from important elements of their lives in a way that is easily accessible and relatable to their audience.
Senior Chase Dykeman and junior Lily Beck were proud audience members of their fellow Buena Bulldog films and the local community’s efforts.
“It’s very cool to see people in our community doing creative things,” Dykeman said. “It’s very inspiring just to see how everyone puts themselves out there and to see their creative visions.”
Beck’s personal investments in the Cinefest tie to her many friendships. This is an example of connections between Buena’s performing arts community and the local cinema community that has brought in a lot of support and motivation for and from young artists.
“[Cinefest] is a really great opportunity for young film makers to get their [films] out and receive feedback. It was a really great experience. You’ll see the local community and some really experimental [films],” Beck said.
After the screening of all the films, the audience members were able to vote for their favorites to be highlighted.Congratulations to the audience’s selected winners: Lyz Merola, Harrison Orwig, Luis Guereca, Sophie Cobarrubia, Nick Seider, Natalie Couture and Will Gundlach, as well as all of the participating film makers who continue to inspire Ventura’s film community to grow.
