Contact Doug St. Denis, 619-306-0297; dstdenis@san.rr.com
With Coronado’s long and enduring relationship with Hollywood, it should come as no surprise that Coronado Island Film Festival has a fair share of award-winning women filmmakers with strong ties to Coronado included in its inaugural lineup.
WE SERVED TOO: THE STORY OF THE WOMEN AIR FORCE SERVICE PILOTS OF WWII, a documentary feature by Coronado resident Jill Bond Sawhney, will screen on the festival’s opening night, January 15, at 8 p.m. in Coronado’s Performing Arts Center Theatre. It was on a trip to Tuscany with her mother in 2009 that the seed was planted for Bond-Sawhney’s film. There they met an elderly local winemaker in a tiny village who had a story to tell: During World War II, as a 16 year old boy, he happened upon a British pilot in a field, desperately hiding from the Germans who had shot him down. Brave beyond his years, the boy hid the soldier among the family wine barrels for two weeks, smuggling food and water to him, not even telling his parents about his “guest.” Forty years later, the British government found this winemaker in his village and presented him with the British Medal of Honor for his life-saving courage. Jill began to wonder how many similar, untold stories of World War II there must be, and how sad it was that the generation who could tell them was fast dying off. With that, her mother mentioned that in the retirement home where she lived there was a woman who had been a WASP (Woman Airforce Service Pilot) – the first women ever to fly US military aircraft in wartime service to their country. A nasty and aggressive campaign by a group of male pilots caused these women to be denied military status by Congress and, much to their disappointment, to be sent home before the war was over. They received no insurance benefits during or after the war, and the families of those killed in action could not place a service star in the window in their honor. It was not until the 1970s that WASPs were recognized as WWII veterans, and in 2010 they received Congressional Gold Medals, many posthumously. Bond-Sawhney spent two years in the making of this film, researching, tracking down and interviewing surviving WASPs and their families, gathering archival footage and bringing this compelling and almost-lost story to the screen. The film has been well received in select venues across the country, continues to air nationally on PBS, and in 2014 won the coveted Gracie Award. Jill will be on hand to introduce the film and conduct a Q&A afterwards.
Tani Cohen, whose documentary, MR. CONSERVATIVE: GOLDWATER ON GOLDWATER, is set to screen on Sunday, January 17 at 10:00 AM in the Coronado Library Winn Room, is a third-generation Coronadan and graduate of Coronado High School. Her parents, Ben and Loris Cohen, built, and for many years were proprietors of, the popular Coronado Department Store at 836 Orange Avenue. Ben was well known in the community, serving as a Coronado City Councilman and as Coronado’s Port Commissioner. Tani, who hails from “a long line of merchandisers,” isn’t exactly sure how she ended up with her own Los Angeles film production company, a day in the life films, inc., but it is something she has done for nearly thirty years with great success, ever since her graduation with honors from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Fine and Communication Arts. To quote her, “I just love what I do.” Her list of credits is long and impressive, mostly independent narrative features. The Goldwater documentary came about through her longtime friendship with CC Goldwater, granddaughter of the Senator, who co-produced the film. The film traces the roots of Goldwater’s conservative philosophy, which gave birth to a whole new generation of Republican politics. Narrated by CC Goldwater, the Senator’s views on gay rights, the Christian right, and a woman’s right to choose may surprise you.
Both CC and Tani will be on hand for the Q&A, possibly joined by CC’s mother (Barry’s daughter), who will be in Coronado for the festival, along with much of the Goldwater family. On Saturday, January 16, Tani Cohen will join another locally-grown producer, Lisa Bruce (the Oscar-winning THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING) on the MEET THE PRODUCERS PANEL at 12:30 PM in the new Boathouse Club Room on the Strand, south of the Community Center. A light lunch will be served.
Showcasing two political icons of the same era, one a Republican and one a Democrat, CIFF is proud to offer “the perfect double feature” and companion piece to the Goldwater film, the Emmy-nominated documentary, CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND: THE LEGACY OF PAT BROWN, scheduled to screen at 1:00 PM in the Winn Room on Sunday, January 17. Filmmaker Sascha Rice is the granddaughter of the late Gov. Pat Brown and the niece of California’s current governor Jerry Brown. Utilizing a combination of tender private family home movies and compelling historic political footage, the film was co-produced by Rice’s sister Hilary Armstrong and offers a rare, up-close peek at the complex world of one of the most influential and powerful California politicians of the twentieth century. Pat Brown’s relentless and passionate fight for free higher education for all California residents reveals as much about the man behind the often-stern exterior as do the scenes of him playing with his grandchildren. Sascha’s mother, Kathleen Rice – lawyer, former California State Treasurer, daughter and sister of California Governors, and herself a onetime Gubernatorial candidate – is featured in personal and intimate interviews throughout. This documentary has screened at colleges and venues around the country, including the National Archives in Washington, DC, the Paley Center in New York, and the United Nations Film Festival, garnering a Grand Jury Prize for Cinematic Vision. A resident of Los Angeles, Sascha is also a published writer, teacher, public speaker, volunteer mentor to young writers, and has recently joined Kodak as head of global marketing for motion picture. In addition, she serves on the Board of Advisors of the Pat Brown Institute, a non-partisan public policy institute based at Cal State L.A. At the screening, Rice and Armstrong will be introduced by their cousin Whitney Benzian, who is a Coronado resident and member of CIFF’s Executive Board. They will remain afterwards for the Q and A. Sascha’s father, George “Jeep” Rice also lives in Coronado, as do her aunt and uncle, Peter and Maryly Benzian.
The festival runs from Friday, January 15 through Monday, January 18, MLK weekend. Passes may be purchased at coronadoislandfilmfest.com.
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