The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF) has announced its 17th Annual event will be held March 9 – 13, 2011.
The jam-packed five-day festival will take place all over San Luis Obispo County and will bring together filmmakers, festival-goers and celebrities from around the world. Over one hundred films, special events and workshops will be presented in a wide variety of theatrical and unusual venues.
This fall, the SLOIFF is teaming up with the Women’s Legacy Fund to present a unique evening of film and conversation on Wednesday, October 6th, 2010, at 7:00pm at the Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo. This is a free screening, with a suggested donation of $15 to benefit both organizations.
The focus of the event is a new documentary, “I Know a Woman Like That,” produced and directed by mother and daughter, Elaine and Virginia Madsen. Their fascinating look at women and aging was just awarded the Humanitarian Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. F
ilm critic, Roger Ebert, recently called the film “transformative in the way it regards life from the perspective of age. Extraordinary!”
Producer Virginia Madsen (SIDEWAYS, AMELIA) and director, Elaine Madsen (Emmy Award-winning director) will be on hand to meet attendees at a pre-screening reception, along with several other guest stars from the film, including environmental activist, Lupe Anguiano and philanthropist, Valerie Sobel. There will also be a lively Q & A session after the screening.
“I Know a Woman Like That” features extraordinary women over the age of 65 from all walks of life, who speak openly in interviews conducted across the country over a two-year period, by Elaine and Virginia Madsen.
Each woman demonstrates complete engagement in her life, a strong commitment to society and embodies an inspirational passion for something – be it education, social justice, the arts, environmental protection and even competitive sports. The interviews with these “women like that” will motivate every one at every age. And the film is not just for women.
The interviewees in the documentary are a wide-ranging collection of women and include a 95-year-old competitive water skier, the 89-year-old mayor of Evanston, Illinois, actress/model Lauren Hutton, 66-year-old writer Maxine Hong Kingston, 77-year-old actress Rita Moreno, and revolutionary feminist, Gloria Steinem, now 75 and still feisty.
The 18 women interviewed discuss everything from the pros and cons of aging, to sex, gender and generational issues, what it is to be independent and more. Each of the women has a powerful spirit that provokes conversation, and the issues are universal and of interest to men too.
The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is pleased to be co-presenting this special fall fundraising event with the Women’s Legacy Fund. Established in 2003, the Women’s Legacy Fund is a permanent endowment held at the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation.
It is the only endowment fund in the County that targets the needs of women and girls alone. In just a short amount of time, the Women’s Legacy Fund has been embraced by the community with support from more than 300 community members including more than 180 Legacy Leaders who have contributed more than $1,000 to the fund.
Each Legacy Leader has a voice in determining the focus of grants that are distributed each year.
A meet-and-greet reception will precede the screening, from 5:00-6:30pm on the opening night of a brand new restaurant co-owned by Novo’s Robin Covey, just steps from the Fremont Theatre at 1009 Monterey St. (in the former Chow location.)
Admission to the reception is $50 and includes wine from Talley Vineyards and Cottonwood Canyon, sumptuous appetizers, live music and reserved seating at the Fremont Theatre. Special guests Lupe Anguiano, Valerie Sobel and filmmakers, Elaine and Virginia Madsen will be in attendance. More special guests may be announced soon.
The documentary will screen at 7:00pm at the Fremont Theatre, 1025 Monterey St. San Luis Obispo. Admission is a suggested donation of $15. All proceeds from the reception and screening will benefit both the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival and the Women’s Legacy Fund.
This event helps to kick off the focus on women in film (entitled Chicks in Flicks) that will be presented at the 17th Annual SLOIFF next March. A five-day series of special screenings, seminars, and hands-on workshops is being planned with an exciting lineup of VIP guests to honor the women who have played an important role in the film industry in the last hundred years, and the future of women in the notoriously male-dominated business of filmmaking.
To purchase reception tickets: www.slofilmfest.org or (805) 546-3456. These tickets include reserved seating. Individual movie tickets for the 900-seat Fremont Theatre will be available at the door beginning at 6 p.m.
Lindsey Miller
lindseyinslo
