How did the La Costa Film Festival come to be? It was inspired by the magical old Hollywood connection to the La Costa Resort & Spa, and the desire to bring an intimate experience of world class cinema to Carlsbad.
How important was your relationship with the North County business community in terms of getting the festival started? The Festival is operated by a nonprofit public benefit corporation, with zero employees, but over 150 dedicated volunteers. We rely heavily on our business community to support this effort, with the firm belief that enhancing our cultural opportunities will definitely improve our business opportunities as well.
How does the festival impact the North County economy? We believe the long term impact will be profound, as we are tracking the same growth rate as highly successful festivals like Palm Springs and Newport Beach. As stated before, it’s a proven fact that more cultural activities improve economies. We also have discovered a deep pool of film industry talent residing in North County and just needing the connections and resources to flourish. Our area high schools have amazingly talented students with film interests, who should be encouraged to develop them here.
What makes it different from other festivals? We begin with an incredible location that guarantees an intimate and unforgettable experience. The fact that we’re all volunteers makes everyone feel ownership in the results, and vested in our success. In our special events, we try to emphasize the best of our area from our vendor restaurants, local craft brewers, boutique wineries, and a special focus on sports films. Carlsbad has been called the “fittest city in America,” so we felt that genre would reflect well on our community.
Did you learn anything from the first installment of the festival that made you approach things differently going forward? We learned that putting on a film festival is very difficult, and very few actually survivethe first year. We discovered that you can never start early enough for the next festival, and the last 30 days will always be completely crazy, but for some reason people want to keep doing it.
What is the hardest aspect of running a festival? The need to plan far in advance, but knowing that the most vital aspects of the festival will remain uncertain until the last minute. We’ve often said that putting on a festival is like staging four different weddings where you’re not sure who’s coming or who’s getting married.
Tell us about this year’s films – What are you excited about? We get the most excited about the independent filmmakers who have labored for sometimes 8 years to bring their vision to market, and seeing an appreciative audience’s reaction. If you blindly poke a finger at the Festival Program to make your pick, you won’t be disappointed.
What’s next for the festival? Where do you see it by 2020? In many ways, we expect the Festival to provide more of the same in the future, as far as an intimate film experience, and a destination location. We plan to add more opportunities to access those by offering events year round, and adding additional venues that still complement the desired overall feel. We will also become recognized as one of the must attend festivals on the international circuit.
Is there a specific message or theme that you look for in the films brought to the La Costa Film Festival? We look for the best available films in all genres from around the world produced over the last year. We have always had a special segment with a sports film focus because of the active lifestyles of our citizens. In general we strive to present films that appeal to our better natures.
Can you share with us some of the special moments you’ve experienced with your wife at the festival that makes it all worthwhile? Watching someone buy a ticket, and then afterwards telling us how much they enjoyed the experience. Having a filmmaker say that they’ve never seen or heard their film any better, nor had a more appreciative audience. Hearing a student say that the Festival changed their life, and made them believe that anything was possible. Seeing many of the same volunteers come back year after year, eager and with a smile on their faces. We have received countless thanks from people, but we’re especially pleased that our community has really begun to recognize that this is their Festival.
For festival passes, screenings, galas and more, visit lacostafilmfestival.org.