Cinequest, San Jose’s annual film festival celebrating maverick filmmakers, ended Sunday, March 8 with a gala, a packed screening of Roger Nygard’s (“Trekkies,” “Suckers”) new documentary “The Nature of Existence,” and a party at the E & O Trading Co. in downtown San Jose. There were many filmmakers and film fans in attendance, and awards were given out for the jury selections. The votes for the audience awards were still being tabulated.
This year had a wide variety of films and events for film fans and filmmakers of all genres and interests, with numerous national and international premieres. If you missed out on some of the films, don’t despair. Cinequest is emphasizing distribution in the coming months, both with downloads and DVDs. See www.cinequestonline.org for details.
Cinequest 20 is next year, February 24- March 7, 2010. But if you don’t want to wait until then, you don’t have to. Cinequest offers numerous mentoring opportunities like Adobe Youth Voices/Cinequest Filmmaking Camp, now in its third year. This month-long filmmaking program offers young people the chance to make their own short films and work with professional filmmakers. There are also screenings in San Pedro Square during the summer, organized by Cinequest.