Fallbrook Film Festival, Opening Night

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Gregory Mannino
Production Designer and Art Director, Gregory Mannino is here in support of his film Paper Dolls, showing on Saturday night.

James Kerwin and Chase Masterson
Director James Kerwin and Producer and Lead Actress Chase Masterson of Yesterday Was a Lie, at the Opening Night Party.

Linda Mandrayer, Ronald Shattuck, and Brigitte Schlemmer
Linda Mandrayer, Ronald Shattuck, and Film Festival Director Brigitte Schlemmer.

Fallbrook Film Festival

Adam Pitman
Producer, Writer, and Lead Actor Adam Pitman talks up his film, Paper Dolls.

Fallbrook Film Festival

Christiana Minga and Peter Hulst
Actress Christiana Minga and Peter Hulst, the Director of Photography for Misunderstood.

Fallbrook Film Festival
Jingles and Colleen Aichle.

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fallbrook Film Festival

After the opening party, it was time to officially begin the festival with a few films! The Flyboys was at the Mission Theater – the largest venue – it’s stars Stephen Baldwin and Tom Sizemore and was released in March. JJ Purty’s showed The Matter with Clark.

And at the Art Center, Yesterday Was a Lie was shown. Described as a groundbreaking new noir film, combining the thrills of a classic detective mystery with the imagination of science fantasy, Yesterday Was a Lie was directed by a Fallbrook resident – and one of the lead actresses was there. So for me, it was the obvious choice.

I remember when I took cinema classes in college, having to let go and trust that my professor had chosen wisely – because ground-breaking, genre-warping films can be mind-numbingly awesome, or mind-numbingly awful. You have to go with it, and trust that it’ll be awesome – you can’t approach it half-heartedly – you have to let it take you for the full ride. And if it’s awesome, it’s great! And if it’s awful, all you can do is vow to read more reviews next time…

But isn’t a film festival the time to take a risk and see a film that challenges you?

The director, James Kerwin was introduced before the film started and he made a comment about not worrying if you don’t get it – that it takes most people multiple viewings to really get all the layers. So fair warning!

The look of the film is gorgeous – it’s what I call glowy black and white. Mr. Kerwin explained the process at a Q&A after the viewing, and it’s similar to how I’d achieve the same look digitally in a still image – duplicate the image, blur one version, and layer them. It mimics the look of film – and the way light can bounce around when hitting the film.

The film features two beautiful blondes, and you never really know for sure if they’re two different people, two sides of the same person, or if one is a figment of the other’s imagination. That sounds complicated – but it’s not. When you’re along for the ride, it all makes sense – even the fact that you’re not sure, makes sense. That’s the whole thing – the fun of it all – being unsure and wondering.

But unlike a lot of films that leave you hanging, and leave you unsatisfied – this one has an ending that fulfills. Things aren’t wrapped up with a bow – it could never be that simple! And I may interpret the ending one way, and you another, and I think that’s a beautiful thing!

In other words, it was awesome!

Chase Masterson and James Kerwin
Producer and Lead Actress Chase Masterson, and the Director, Fallbrook resident James Kerwin at the Q&A after the film.

Chase Masterson and James Kerwin
Chase Masterson talks about the challenges and the joys of producing her first film.

2 Replies to “Fallbrook Film Festival, Opening Night”

  1. I grew up in Fallbrook in the 60's and I am almost sure that the Film Fest opening pics seem to be what can only be the "new" Rexall pharmacy, which was the 60's modern building that replaced the old Rexall where we could go to soda fountain. Great shots! I look forward to looking at your other pictures in the blog archives! Thanks

  2. Exactly right! That is the old pharmacy – now the Fallbrook Art and Cultural Center – and the soda fountain still exists, but it’s now a part of a really cute little cafe in the back of the center. Isn’t it cool that a building with so much history in the community was able to be re-purposed to fill a new need? And it’s actually a perfect fit as an art center – it’s beautiful!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.