By Angellyne DePerio
The weather is getting a little colder but things are just heating up in San Diego with the 12th annual San Diego Film Festival right around the corner! From October 2nd to October 6th, San Diego will be hosting some of the finest films, parties, and good times at the San Diego Film Festival. With so much good stuff happening, it may get hard to decide on the details of your experience. Here are some of the festival’s highlights to guide your journey.
Filmmaker Tribute Honoring Judd Apatow the Visionary Filmmaker Award Ladies and gentlemen, grab your evening gowns and suits because this year’s tribute honoree is a filmmaking visionary. Producing Anchorman, This is 40, Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks, 40 Year Old Virgin, Girls, Knocked Up, and more is this year’s recipient. Judd Apatow’s productions have brought many to tears of laughter while providing insight on this adventure called life and we are so excited to pay tribute to one classy guy. So don’t miss out on this experience! (Disclaimer: As the SDFF intern, this is the event I am most looking forward to and every time I think about it, I get even more star-struck! This is definitely not a night to miss!)
Opening Night Feature Movie: 12 Years a Slave Haven’t heard the buzz around our opening night movie yet? Well doing a quick little Google search query will show that this year’s opening movie is going to be a sure-fire hit as many are calling it an Oscar favorite. Don’t believe me? Here’s the link: (Just click and browse!) Produced by Brad Pitt, directed by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt and more – 12 Years a Slave captures the raw and gripping true-story of Solomon Northrup. Don’t miss this film on opening night – Wednesday, October 2nd at Reading Theater in the Historic Gaslamp Quarter.
Emerging Producer Award: Justin Nappi
Bam! We’ve got another film production superstar being awarded at SDFF this year. At just 25 years old, Justin Nappi started his career with great film projects like Arbitrage, Adult World, and At Any Price but he isn’t stopping there. He’s got even greater future plans and that’s why we’re honoring him with the 2013 SDFF Emerging Producer Award. We can’t wait to see what else he’s got in store for film-lovers everywhere!
Humanitarian Award: Mariel Hemingway
We’re excited and proud to show the documentary Running From Crazy this year. Running From Crazy is directed by Academy Award winning Barbara Kopple and focuses on the family of the legendary Ernest Hemingway. With that, Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital will be presenting Mariel Hemingway with the 2013 Humanitarian Award to honor her work in the film with mental illness.
Our Renowned Host: Jeffrey Lyons
Hosting all the fun this week is the one and only Jeffrey Lyons. Film critic Jeffrey Lyons’ work includes Reel Talk, MSNBC’s At the Movies with son Ben Lyons (from E! and who will also be attending the festival) and reviewing over 15000 movies! We’re looking forward to Jeffrey leading our film adventure this week!
Lastly… We’re doing it big this year with TWO Locations That’s right, you read it correctly – this year’s film fest is happening in two locations in America’s Finest City. We’ll be rocking downtown at the Reading Theater in Gaslamp Quarter as always but now we’ve also taken over the beautiful La Jolla scene at Arclight Theaters. Now you can get the best of San Diego’s cityscape. Who doesn’t love having choices? More of a visual person? Check out our sizzle reel to preview these highlights including some fun stuff we did last year!
Need more details? Our lineup is out and ready for you to customize…
Watch the Films!
See the Schedule Lineup!
As always, we’ve got a great lineup of shorts, docs, Native American track films, sports track films, music track films, panels, and parties for you to enjoy. So get ready, set, and go! It’s going to be a great time!