With its “It’s Complicated!” theme, the Carmel Arts and Film Festival will host a celebration from Oct.10-14 focusing on pop culture hardships in the arts.
Carmel High School will be involved for the first time in festival history as movies will be screened in the theater throughout the festival, and students will attend presentations by filmmakers Monday, Oct. 15.
Scholarships are also given to aspiring student filmmakers. This year, CHS alum Nate Mandurrago won a $2,500 scholarship to further his career in film.
Since 2009, the festival has become nationally recognized. A record-breaking number of people are expected to attend this year’s festival, with 7,000 people expected to attend the free film screening on Saturday, Oct. 11, at Carmel Beach. Students are warmly welcomed, Carmel Arts and Film Festival co-founder Tom Burns notes.
Within five days, about 100 films will be screened from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
There are four different sections of independent films in the festival—narrative features, documentary, short and student—and each category awards prizes to the top film.
The biggest award of the festival is the Clint Eastwood Filmmaker’s Award given to those who “embody Clint Eastwood’s commitment to the craft of filmmaking.” Each year, the winner is chosen by Eastwood and his wife Dina.
This year, the festival is featuring a program called “Women in Film” and will screen a documentary called “About Face: Supermodels Then and Now” about supermodels who first broke the billion-dollar mark, with special appearances from models Cheryl Tiegs and Beverly Johnson.
Art and photography will be incorporated throughout the festival. This year will feature Los Angeles art sensation Thierry Guetta, also known as Mr. Brainwash, a filmmaker and street artist.
Music will be presented through a variety of concerts featuring local talent. Griffin House and ShyBoy will rock the stage with their musical talent throughout the festival.
For more information about this year’s festival, check Carmelartandfilm.com for tickets and film schedules.
-Sasha Polovneff
