The Poppy Jasper Film Festival has a date, a hands-on steering
committee, $2,000 in start-up capital, a theme, sponsors lining up
and even a scholarship idea. Festival planners have hit the ground
running, corralling a few luminaries to join an energetic board and
invite the entire town to a kick-off meeting Thursday evening at 7
p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
The Poppy Jasper Film Festival has a date, a hands-on steering committee, $2,000 in start-up capital, a theme, sponsors lining up and even a scholarship idea. Festival planners have hit the ground running, corralling a few luminaries to join an energetic board and invite the entire town to a kick-off meeting Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express.
This is “one heck of a kick-pants vision!” said Kim Bush, committee chair.
Judging from the “interest cards” people filled out at the Taste of Morgan Hill, the committee expects more than 100 people to appear for Thursday’s meeting – eager to hear how plans for the fest have developed so far and how they can help make it happen.
Planned for a weekend in November 2004, the festival will start small and limit entries to films created in California or by California residents. Students, especially young women, girls and minorities, normally underrepresented in the behind-the-camera film world, will be especially encouraged to take part.
“It’s rare to find girls and minorities in film classes, videography clubs or technical film production troupes,” said Brenna Gano, who just moved to the area from New York. “This means that these voices will be underrepresented in the film arts area in the years to come.”
Besides punching up the activity scene for locals, film festivals bring in business.
“I’m absolutely convinced that a vibrant film festival could draw thousands of people to downtown restaurants, add sparkle to our nightlife, fill our hotels, and help to make us one of those rare, small communities with a thriving arts and culture atmosphere,” Bush said.
The first board member to sign on is Yahoo! executive Tim Sanders, a Morgan Hill resident and author of the briskly selling book, “Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends.” Sanders will add his talents and experience in creating innovation.
“I’m in on the Poppy Jasper Film Fest because of my strong belief that it’s at the community level where the imaginative innovations are formed,” Sanders said. “Regardless of whether your ‘community’ is a weekly lunch group, a litter of cubicle-mates, your Sunday morning coffee group, a gathering of soccer moms, or a group of high-tech executives out on the golf course. Great innovations take flight when passionate groups at these community levels commit themselves to creating something new.”
The physical trophies to be awarded and related merchandise as well, will revolve around the red and yellow Poppy Jasper stone, unique to Morgan Hill’s western hills. Graphics designer and artist Bob Snow, a film fest devotee, said the jasper theme gives a tangible “brand” to the festival, translating into coffee mugs, T-shirts, pictures and other fanciful items, sold to support the festival.
Snow plans to design the awards with jasper chips and inlays.
“The award recipients will walk away with a unique piece of Morgan Hill that will go with them anywhere in the world they travel. How many film festivals can do this? In essence, we’d be creating a one-of-a-kind award!”
Snow’s Poppy Jasper Film Festival poster, designed to give the event maximum publicity at the Taste of Morgan Hill, has been much in demand.
A local jeweler has asked how to be designated the official Poppy Jasper Film Fest jeweler and, of course, El Toro Brewery’s own Poppy Jasper Pale Ale, would be a natural sponsor.
The steering committee also includes teachers from Britton Middle (Mary Lopez) and Live Oak High school (Bob BrownKorbel and Michael Sue BrownKorbel), all working on defining a scholarship fund that would get students involved in a way that integrates the film festival competition into school film and video production classes.
Even starting small, the committee has big plans.
“Communities elsewhere have started with even less than what Morgan Hill has going for it out-the-gate with this festival idea,” Bush said. “Morgan Hill has a beautiful downtown, a stunning community center, a fabulous community playhouse, and a community vision and plan for urban design improvements to enliven the downtown as a destination. And that’s not even taking into account other community amenities in the works like the aquatics complex.”
Similar festivals run for at least a week. Marin County’s Mill Valley Film Festival runs for 11 days, hosts approximately 200 filmmakers from around the world, sells more than 40,000 tickets and turns up about 4,400 hits on the Google Internet search site.
After hearing “The Festival Concept,” on Thursday, meeting-goers can brainstorm on how to make the festival really rock and sign up (or inquire about) the several committees on judging, facilities/technical, film traffic, sponsors, finance, marketing & promotion, programming, festival logistics, scholarships, hospitality, awards, volunteers, standards & submissions. Jay Jaso, an early enthusiast, said the committee especially needs a cadre of people skilled in Website development and management.
— Jay Jaso contributed to this story
Poppy Jasper Film Festival community meeting: Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. at Holiday Inn Express, 17005 Condit Road, just east of Hwy. 101 and north of East Dunne Avenue. Details: www.poppyjasperfilmfest.org or e-mail: in**@*****************st.org
