The acclaimed Poppy Jasper International Film Festival returns to Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista April 8-15. This year’s festival features more films—and at more venues—and is expected to draw a larger number of filmmakers than any previous edition in the event’s 22-year history.
“We really try to change the way we see each other through film,” said Mattie Scariot, executive director of the festival. “Our mission is about inclusion, diversity and women’s empowerment. In Hollywood, there’s a huge deficit with women and minorities, and we’re trying to change that.”
Gilroy
Gilroy’s week of Poppy Jasper events begins April 8 at Gavilan College, where the Central Coast Film Summit will bring together leaders from six regional film festivals for a free public conversation about the economic benefits of a robust local film industry.
It’s part of a coordinated push to put the Central Coast on the map for productions and tourism.
“What we’re trying to do is engage local government and make them see the value of having a film festival—the economic impact we have on the community—so we get more support,” Scariot said.
The festival’s April 10 Opening Gala in Morgan Hill will feature the premiere of its official 20th anniversary music video, created in collaboration with Gilroy native Randy Spendlove, a former president of Paramount Music who’s earned two Grammy Awards and produced music for hundreds of movies (including the 2023 blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.”)
Spendlove frequently mentors up-and-coming music producers and filmmakers.
“He grew up in Gilroy, comes back every year, and has been mentoring a lot of people from here,” Scariot said. “He’s got an incredible story.”
Gilroy’s schedule also includes a Film Festival Strategy panel on April 9, led by the consulting group Festival Formula. It’s aimed at helping filmmakers make sense of a submission landscape that now encompasses some 30,000 festivals worldwide.
This is followed by an Industry Panel on April 11 at CMAP TV Studios, where film professionals will field questions from attending filmmakers. Festival week in Gilroy wraps with a Music Series at CMAP TV Studios on the evening of April 11.
Morgan Hill
Events in Morgan Hill begin with a VIP pre-party at Morgan’s Cove on the evening of April 7.
This year’s pre-party centers on an icon award for the Bay Area rock band Y&T. A group of local musicians will perform a medley of Y&T songs in the band’s honor.
(Admission requires a VIP pass, filmmaker credential or sponsor status.)
The first film screenings in Morgan Hill begin on April 9, with CURA Contemporary Art Gallery highlighting homegrown films as a part of the festival’s Local Filmmaker Showcase.
Screenings continue on April 10 with films at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse for the festival’s Women’s Day, after a two-hour brunch at MOHI Farm.
This will be followed by a panel discussion with female filmmakers featuring Tal Anderson, Brigitte Mueller, Alex Caulfield, Ke’alhoi Lucero and moderator Zoe Elton.
The heart of the festival then kicks off in earnest with a red carpet Opening Gala on April 10 at the Granada Theater in downtown Morgan Hill.
It will feature a special screening of “What Comes Next,” a drama created by Canadian filmmaker Alex Caulfield that follows a mother and teenage daughter through a family crisis after the death of a loved one.
“I just felt it was a powerful film,” Scariot said. “It’s a filmmaker doing her first feature, and I think she does an amazing job. It stars Mena Suvari. I thought it was appropriate for an opening ceremony.”
Morgan Hill’s events also include a virtual reality program at CURA Contemporary, on April 12, that offers immersive film experiences, including an underwater dolphin sequence, followed by a panel discussion on VR and its impact on filmmaking.
An LGBTQ+ Day on April 14 will feature a performance by local drag artists and an icon award for Amanda Lepore, the famous transgender performer and drag queen.
Hollister and San Juan Bautista
Hollister will host the festival’s “Mexico y Tú” program April 13 at the Granada Theater on Fifth Street, which includes a screening of “Bird of Four Hundred Voices,” a documentary about Eugene Rodriguez, the musician known for his work with Los Lobos.
Rodriguez will attend, receive an icon award and sign books.
The Hollister lineup also includes a screening of “Flowers Beyond the Dark,” a documentary by Ukrainian filmmaker Iryna Pravylo on April 11, also at the Granada.
The documentary weaves together three storylines from the Russian invasion of Ukraine: artists Natalia and Serhiy, separated by occupation and working to rebuild their relationship once reunited; Father Andriy Halavin, an Orthodox priest in Bucha who tends to mass burials on his church grounds; and two soldiers of the 72nd Brigade, who guarded a civilian evacuation corridor known as “the road of life.”
“It’s a hard film to watch, but it’s very well done,” Scariot said. “The filmmakers are coming, they have family in Hollister.”
San Juan Bautista will host screenings April 11 and 12 at the Barn at Mission Farm, a century-old structure that has become one of the most talked-about venues of the festival.
It has won international acclaim for its unique atmosphere.
Among the featured films is “Nina is an Athlete,” a documentary about a paraplegic woman who becomes a champion badminton competitor in Israel.
The festival concludes in Hollister at 8:30pm, April 15, with closing ceremonies at the Granada Theater, where filmmaker and audience awards will be announced following the final block of film screenings.
Throughout the festival’s run, residents and visitors can also engage in a PJIFF scavenger hunt, which connects the downtowns of Gilroy and Morgan Hill through a partnership with the VTA.
“We’re really going to turn the downtowns into like a playground, where you’re bringing film, creativity, transit and community together,” Scariot said. “We’re using the venues that we’re in, our sponsors, incorporating history and film history with the downtown history, and working all that together to make the scavenger hunt.”
Participants will answer a series of location-based questions each day of the festival, take photos at designated spots and tag the festival and VTA on social media to earn stickers and buttons. Those who complete multiple challenges will be eligible for larger prizes.
For more information, a schedule of events and film screenings, and to purchase tickets, visit pjiff.org.
