A decade of movie magic: Festival is open Nov 8-10

The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival started with humble beginnings as a fundraiser, and 10 years later has persevered to become an ingrained, well established event that attracts filmmakers from all over the world.
The 10th anniversary of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival – its name inspired by the City’s official mineral – will bring the event back to downtown Morgan Hill’s Granada Theater for the second year in a row, Nov. 8 to Nov. 10.
About 60 short films (40 minutes or less) representing the gamut of genres, including documentaries, sci-fi, dramas, comedies and more, will be screened.
New to the festival will be a series of “Local Filmmaker Showcases,” featuring short films by South County residents. One of these is the 36-minute documentary “Crooked as [Expletive],” about Morgan Hill punk band Sad Boy Sinister.
“As a short, it’s great. The insights into the lifestyles and relationships of the band members are refreshing, and the music is killer,” said the film’s producer Rale Sidebottom, a Morgan Hill native who now lives in the Midwest.
The Times caught up with some of the original board members for the inaugural festival in 2004, which did not start out with “international” in its title, according to PJIFF board member and co-founder Bob Snow.
The board didn’t add “international” until a few years after it was founded.
“We started getting a lot of films from Germany, Korea, Scotland” and other countries, Snow said.
In fact, the festival actually started in 2002, before anyone thought it would become an annual event, according to co-founder Kim Bush.
It was organized simply as a fundraiser for the Morgan Hill Access public television station, Snow explained. The fundraiser was local businessman Bill Leamon’s idea, and those who joined him were a group of local film buffs like Snow and Bush.
“Nobody in the group had ever done a movie festival, and it’s grown from there,” said Snow, who is also a board member of Morgan Hill Access Television. He makes his living as co-owner of Design Factory – a print, Internet and multimedia graphic design company.
Since then, the festival has had its ups and downs – particularly some years when it was a “struggle” to raise enough funds to even produce a festival, Snow said. The festival has relied heavily on sponsorships and donations since its inception.
But now, the PJIFF is much more than a showcase for burgeoning filmmakers to get noticed. Its offerings are interactive and comprehensive, featuring a series of workshops, parties and a keynote speaker throughout the weekend.
Over the years, the PJIFF has featured a number of film production bigwigs like cinematographer Vance Piper, who has worked on more than 50 movies including “The Terminator” and “La Bamba.” This year, Piper will lead a hands-on workshop on “how to shoot a scene,” Snow explained.
Screenwriter Victor Miller of “Friday the 13th” franchise fame – a PJIFF veteran who was keynote speaker for the second annual festival – will lead a workshop on script writing.
Other notable names to grace the festival include Oscar-winning special effects artist John Bruno and renowned actor Joe Estevez – who rub elbows with short film producers who gather in Morgan Hill to promote their Poppy Jasper entries and gain knowledge from industry veterans.
“They get one-on-one time with keynote speakers (who) remember their early days when they would have loved to meet people in the industry,” said Bush, who was doing film production with MHAT when Leamon asked her to help 10 years ago.
Although Bush took a hiatus from the festival after serving as director for the first six years, she has returned this year to help with marketing.
She added that the expertise offered by keynote speakers and workshops relaying decades of technical production experience at PJIFF are insightful for even the more lackadaisical film buffs.
“You see a movie with a little bit different eyes, which makes it fascinating,” Bush said.
Once the Poppy Jasper festival became an annual event, Bush said the board members realized it was by “happy accident” the festival focuses on only short films, as the limited venues in Morgan Hill and scheduling of the event wouldn’t allow for a full weekend of feature films.
PJIFF is a “juried” festival, meaning a panel of judges decides which of the submitted films will make it into the festival.
PJIFF board member and co-founder Walter von Tagen, III, is a juror for this year’s festival – as he has been several times in the past – and he said the 2013 schedule of films is impressive.
Subjects of other local films to be presented at this year’s PJIFF are the Bonfante family’s annual Christmas lights display, Henry W. Coe State Park, and Morgan’s Cove – a backyard pirate paradise owned and developed by Morgan Hill resident Rich Firato.
Also a first, the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance provided the PJIFF with a grant to support film submissions that are related to or shot in San Martin, Snow said.
The PJIFF is still a relatively unknown event outside the film world and Morgan Hill, and in some ways that’s an advantage. Setting it apart from other film festivals – especially larger ones – is the inherent absence of business people both promoting and looking for the next big investment in the entertainment industry, Snow explained. That allows filmmakers and true production enthusiasts to take full advantage of the experience and knowledge gathered at the festival in a relaxing environment.
“The filmmakers and visitors have a good time because it’s a real friendly atmosphere. They meet people, network and have a fun weekend,” Snow said.
A showcase of short films submitted from all over the world to a panel of local jurors, plus workshops and a keynote address delivered by industry veterans.
Nov. 8 to Nov. 10 in downtown Morgan Hill
Screenings to take place at the Granada Theater, 17440 Monterey Road
Workshops led by industry veterans to take place at GVA Cafe, 17400 Monterey Road
For more information, go to www.poppyjasperfilmfest.org