Greetings from the sun and surf of Santa Cruz! 

As we gear up for next May, I wanted to take a look back at the 2008 Festival and share with you the activities of some of the films we presented then.  It was a fantastic Festival with a terrific program (if I may so myself).  Over those nine beautiful Spring days, we screened 149 films from all over the world to a record audience of nearly 8000 film lovers.  This is truly a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of our community for independent film and video.

Many of the films we showcased during the 2008 Festival have enjoyed further success since then:

SCFF Best of the Fest Winner, Chaz Thorne’s JUST BURIED secured US and Canadian distribution after the Festival. The film went into wide release in Canada in July through a deal with Seville Pictures.  In the US, Liberation Entertainment released the film in October in selected theatres and plans a January 27, 2009 DVD release.  Tell your friends!

Stewart Wade’s TRU LOVED, SCFF Best Actress Award Winner for Najarra Townsend, also secured distribution with Regent Releasing and went into limited release in October in California, New York, Chicago, Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale.  The film also continues to screen at a number of film festivals and art house cinemas around the country.

Independent British Feature, and SCFF Jury Prize Winner, SUMMER SCARS by Julian Richards has continued its Festival run picking up more awards along the way.  So far, the film has won awards for Best Child Acting at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and the Bronze Award for Suspense/Thriller at WorldFest Houston.  Additionally, it was a BAFTA Cymru Winner (the Welsh branch of the British Academy Awards) for Best Newcomer to Al Wilson for writing, and Winner for Best Title Graphics, and was a Nominee for Best Film.

Finally, Joshua Tickell’s FIELDS OF FUEL continues to screen around the country and was recently named as one of the 15 documentaries to the shortlist for the Academy Awards.  Best of luck, Josh!

We are thrilled at the accomplishments of the films from our 2008 Festival and wish them, and all the other films, the greatest of further success.  We’re proud to have been a part of their achievements and look forward to continuing to support the success of all the films we present and will present in the future.

We are in the midst now of reviewing films for the 2009 Festival and are excited about what we are seeing so far.  As usual, we are blessed with an abundance of quality work in all categories and will be forced to make some very difficult choices when we construct the Festival’s program.  I am sure you will be as ecstatic as we are about the program when it is announced in April.

In the meantime, our Call for Entries is open and we are accepting films and videos for consideration until the end of January.   Please spread the word to all and any filmmakers who might be interested in participating in the Santa Cruz Film Festival.  We promise and amazing venue to showcase their work and the best film audience around!  Information on entering can be found at our website: www.santacruzfilmfestival.org.

See you at the Festival!

Julian Soler

Director of Programming

Santa Cruz Film Festival