Cinequest San Jose Film Festival

The road to San Jose is undeniably paved with good intentions. In its eighth year, Cinequest San Jose Film Festival has probably gotten about as big as it’s going to get – and should, if anything, look to downsize in the future.

With six enthusiastically solid days of programming, multi-focused Cinequest offered quite the spread. Events included big-name-infused tributes, panels, and seminars; a slew of features, shorts, and documentaries ranging from international to local, classics to special interest; and a digital section of presentations, showcases, and discussions launched with a lavish film and technology awards party.

To kickstart the festival, Cinequest screened the documentary Trekkies, an amused, rather benign look at Star Trek fans/fanaticism, with the short Kid Nerd, about nerds all grown up – either into or out of their nerd-dom. As it turns out, the playful opening night neither set nor contradicted the tone of the festival, but, then again, one would be hard-pressed to identify the tone of the festival. The programming was ambitious to say the least. In less than a week, over 60 films were screened in six wildly different categories.

As is obvious, the programming couldn’t have been more broad, and therein lies the problem. The dizzyingly diversified offerings of Cinequest made for a festival that felt scattered and indecisive. With a net so wide, few of the catches made much of an impact. Dramatic competition films My Heart is Mine Alone and Empty Mirror felt glossy, over-produced, and stiflingly pretentious; Gen X-targeted Anarchy TV and Nothing Sacred just seemed tired. The better documentaries like Gutter Punks, a candid, heartfelt, and resonant look at homeless teens in New Orleans; Baby, It’s You; and My America (or honk if you love Buddha) have all received play at other festivals.

Unlike the choke-hold that Sundance has on Park City, Cinequest treads more considerately on San Jose’s rather sedate downtown. Existing symbiotically rather than imperialistically, the festival ranks among the most well-mannered and self-contained. Strong attendance day after day, event after event, was testament to its loyal, if largely local, following. The two theaters in which nearly everything took place were spitting distance from one another, making for a highly convenient, foot-friendly experience. Past, present, and potential repeat filmmakers who had, did, and hoped to screen their work again at Cinequest lauded the treatment they’d received at the festival, and indeed, Cinequest makes it a priority to foster that small-town, love-thy-neighbor, unlock-thy-door warmth. For filmmakers lost in the festival shuffle, Cinequest must feel like home.

Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival by Noah Cowan
Berlin International Film Festival by Noah Cowan
International Film Festival Rotterdam by Stephen Gallagher
Thessaloniki Film Festival by Scott Macaulay
International Havana by Film Festival by Marco Masoni
CineQuest by Beth Kinsolving