At Friday’s keynote speech opening the fifth annual Poppy Jasper
Film Festival, movie fans will find out who really killed the evil
Emperor at the climax of
”
The Return of the Jedi.
”
At Friday’s keynote speech opening the fifth annual Poppy Jasper Film Festival, movie fans will find out who really killed the evil Emperor at the climax of “The Return of the Jedi.” They’ll learn it wasn’t Darth Vader but actually Terry Windell, a man who grew up in San Martin and Morgan Hill and has enjoyed a long, successful career as a Santa Monica-based film director and visual effects designer.
After graduating from Live Oak High School in 1974, Windell went to the Art Center in Pasadena to study illustration, the start of what he calls a “long journey through many things” that led him to make commercials and Saturday morning cartoons. That career path eventually got him involved in such blockbuster flicks as “Poltergeist,” “E.T.,” and “Ghostbusters,” as well as directing several episodes of the “Star Trek: Voyager” series.
In “The Return of the Jedi,” Windell developed the storm-of-lightning special effects that Darth Vader shot at the evil Emperor, finishing off the “Star Wars” galaxy’s most vicious bad guy.
Windell is impressed that Morgan Hill has a successful film festival focused on giving exposure to budding young cinema artists. The PJFF exhibits short films in various genres that are 30 minutes or less in length.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “When I grew up there (in Morgan Hill), there wasn’t a lot of stimuli for that stuff. Other than taking art in high school, there wasn’t any awareness of how to get jobs in the movies. Computers were in their infancy. To have an avenue where people can now go to see films made by students and young professionals and maybe get inspired is really good.”
Festival organizers never intended their local event to get the glitz and glamour that attracts established Hollywood mega stars – such as the Cannes and Sundance festivals do. Instead, their focus is on showcasing up-and-coming talent, a tactic which is steadily gaining the South Valley event national and even international recognition.
Kim Bush, chair of the PJFF, has seen the South Valley festival evolve since it was started five years ago. “Every year, we’ve received terrific reviews from the filmmakers,” she said. “They say it’s one of the best run festivals they’ve attended, and they love the fact we screen only short films. They say it makes them feel recognized for their craftsmen’s skills.”
The filmmakers come from throughout the United States and even from other countries, Bush said. They often praise the festival for providing an “intimate setting” where they can interact with each other and film lovers, she said.
The festival not only shows a selection of high-quality short films, it also provides workshops on screenwriting and short film-making that are open to anyone interested in the nuts and bolts behind the art of cinema. And a “Women in Film” panel will include prominent female filmmakers discussing their experiences in creating a career for themselves in the world of movie-making.
“The Women in Film panel is an integral part of the Poppy Jasper Film Festival,” Bush said. “People are fascinated about learning how the industry works, and the panelists not only talk about the different aspects of filmmaking, but also the highs and lows of the industry. They speak not just from the ‘female’ perspective, but cover issues that all filmmakers face.”
On Sunday afternoon, film-maker James LeBrecht will make closing comments about his experience working on feature and documentary movies. His sound design work includes Academy Award winner “The Blood of Yingzhou District,” “Daughter from Danang,” “The Rape of Europa”, “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” and “The Skulls.”
Bush emphasized that the festival is focused on creating a “fun and friendly” atmosphere for attendees without the high marketing pressure of much bigger festivals that focus on creating buzz for the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
“The fact that we only screen short films and that the professionals we bring to Poppy Jasper are all crafts people – not just actors – are the biggest differences from other film festivals,” she said. “I think everyone has a fascination with films. Poppy Jasper makes filmmakers and the craft of filmmaking so accessible. That, and a variety of really fantastic short films (shown) over a weekend, are the reasons that we keep growing as a festival.”
Victor Miller, a screenwriter who wrote the original “Friday the 13th” scare-flick and served as the keynote speaker at the 2006 festival, says he believes that small film festivals like Poppy Jasper help budding film artists develop their careers by getting their short movies noticed and even awarded. The more laid-back atmosphere of the PJFF – compared with bigger festivals – gives attendees the opportunity to hob-knob with people who truly have a passion for putting stories on the screen, he said.
“Poppy Jasper is all about the people who make movies and the people who love movies with a life-long love for film as entertainment, film as rabble-rousing, film as serious art,” Miller said. “PJFF is not about celebrity or spin or puffery and that makes it extra special. No matter the age or experience, we all meet as people who love movies.”
The Poppy Jasper Film Festival will be held today through Sunday. Films will be shown at the Cinelux Theater at 750 Tennant Avenue and also the Community Playhouse next to the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center at 17000 Monterey Street. Various workshops and filmmaker receptions will be held at other venues.
For more details, visit www.poppyjasperfilmfest.org or call (408) 782-8087.
