Film Festival Coming to Bodega Bay!

Great news, Bodega Bay is hosting film festival in May! Here's the official press release:

The Sonoma, California coast promises to be lively this Memorial weekend (May 28th-29th) where the inaugural Bodega Bay International Short Film Festival is launching a celebration of independent filmmaking from Santa Rosa, California to Hamilton, New Zealand. Whether filmmakers and audience members are attracted by the spectacular seaside location of the festival at UCD Bodega Marine Lab*, or the draw is from the growing Hollywood panel of film judges, Bodega Bay is quickly becoming a cultural focal point for film.

Ever since Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” was shot there in 1963, the town’s cinematic glory has been relatively dormant. But the sleepy, crab fishing town of Bodega Bay has the necessary characteristics to rival Park City, Utah (where the Sundance Film Festival takes place). It’s a little over an hour’s drive from the robust cultural powerhouse, San Francisco, and the Bodega Bay region is an established destination for wine tours, honeymoons, coastal retreats, and excursions.

Local filmmaker, Dan Schieberl of Santa Rosa, is thrilled to have his very short first film take the stage as an official selection of the festival. His film, a family comedy called “Bathroom Drawer” is story of sibling rivalry that was based on a true story. Schieberl remarked “I’d give up my contracting job in a second if I could make films for a living. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by movies.” At the other end of the emotional spectrum comes a grim drama from India called “Wind,” (created by Manikandan Mathiyazhagan). It’s the uncomfortable story of a policeman who is the first person dispatched to a grisly crime scene, when suddenly, a cell phone rings in the corpse’s pocket and the caller really wants to speak with the policeman. And among other international selections for the festival, comes “Lily White” a touching drama by New Zealand directors Scott Granville and Ben Woolen, who plan on traveling to the event. Other countries represented at the festival include South Korea, Israel, Argentina, Switzerland, France, Spain, & Australia. Even Hollywood filmmakers are making a show at the festival. Regionally, San Francisco-based director Richard Levien’s film “Immersion” will pull at heartstrings while posing important questions about our education system.

The festival’s growing panel of film judges includes actor Jack McGee, who most recently starred alongside Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams in the Academy Award nominated “The Fighter.” Also on the jury is Ed Begley, Jr., (Six Feet Under, The New Adventures of Old Christine, St. Elsewhere) who, apart from appearing in over 200 television and motion picture productions, is an activist for environmental issues. Representing strong women in film on the jury is Hollywood producer Share Stallings, who recently produced “Death At A Funeral” starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, and Danny Glover. Due to their jam-packed schedules making movies, it is unclear if any of the judges will be attending the event itself. But they will definitely be watching and judging the finalists and sending in their votes.



The festival takes place on Memorial Weekend May 28th-29th at the UCD Bodega Marine Lab, at Bodega Bay, California. The festival is expected to sell out as the facility only has about 100 seats per screening. For ticket ordering information, along with more details or high definition press photos, please visit the official website: BodegaBayFilmFest.org


*The UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) is one of the oldest academic marine laboratories in the U.S., and its long history of research and training students has contributed invaluably to our knowledge of coastal systems and the policy that protects them. Throughout the years, BML has led the way in multidisciplinary scientific inquiry required to solve complex environmental problems on the marine and terrestrial sides of the tideline, and BML-trained students have become leaders in the field of marine science and policy. http://www-bml.ucdavis.edu/index.html