How Cinequest made it through two years of COVID-19
When the pandemic shut down the in-person film festival, Cinequest created Cinejoy, a virtual live experience that launches for this year on April 1.
When Cinequest was canceled midway through its 30th anniversary festival two years ago this month, nobody had any idea what the future of Silicon Valley’s film and creativity festival would hold. Well, almost nobody.
Co-founder Halfdan Hussey knew Cinequest had the ability to stream movies and recreate the festival experience in a virtual setting — it actually already had done it.
“We were doing a virtual internet film festival in 2003, 2005,” he said. “In the early days, People were laughing at internet distribution of movies at that time, believe it or not.”
The “alpha” version of a live, online festival launched that October when people were still reeling from the first big wave of the pandemic. Two more were held in 2021 and the fourth iteration will run April 1-17, with 132 movies and television shows — including 82 world and U.S. premieres — from 53 countries available to audiences. And special events are still a thing, including virtual “red carpets” spotlighting that evening’s filmmakers and actors, online screening parties where groups can interact with each other after watching a movie, and a virtual “VIP lounge” where ticketholders can mingle with each other through avatars (though you’re on your own for beer, wine and Tito’s vodka).
“This challenge for us wasn’t a bummer or a depressing one during COVID,” Hussey said. “It was an exhilarating challenge, so we called this experience ‘Cinejoy’ because we wanted to bring people the joy of humanity, the joy of cinema, the joy of discourse that is positive and affirmative.”
Cinejoy’s opening night film is “18½,” a 1970s-era Watergate conspiracy thriller and dark comedy directed by Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish that stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Bruce Campbell, Richard Kind and Jon Cryer. The screening will be proceeded by a conversation with the stars and filmmakers. In addition to the 15 “Spotlight” films that will be streamed on specific nights, you can also buy tickets for the other films on the “showcase” schedule, available to watch 24/7 anytime during the festival run. The easiest option is to pick up a festival pass for $129. You can view the lineup and buy tickets at www.creatics.org/cinejoy.
Gemma Arterton, who stars in the short film, “Bump” (April 10), is the first announced recipient of the Maverick Spirit Award this year. And while the award presentation will be virtual instead of at the palatial California Theatre, Hussey says that has its benefits. “If we put Gemma Arterton on a stage, it’s going to be very electric, but only 1,100 people can see it,” he said. “And if you don’t have a front-row seat, she’s going to seem like she’s quite a bit away from you.”
The in-person version of Cinequest is expected to make a triumphant return to downtown San Jose in August, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has included a $75,000 funding request in his March budget message to help “reboot” the festival. But Hussey doesn’t expect Cinejoy to disappear once audiences return to in-person screenings.
“We feel this is a unique experience that we’re very excited about,” he said. “This was not a COVID substitution only. We’re going to keep building out new super-cool experiences that fit the world of global access through the internet.”
LOOKING FOR LIBRARY RESTORATION: The San Jose Public Library Foundation will be recognized at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting for its 35th anniversary. But while the group no doubt appreciates the commendation, it would also like to see something more from the city council: $2 million in funding to restore hours and staffing at the city’s 25 library locations to pre-COVID-19 levels.
At a rally at the West Valley Branch Library, Foundation Executive Director Dawn Coppin said before the pandemic, the library’s branches were open 47 hours a week and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library downtown was open 77 hours week, collectively serving 6 million visitors.
“What does this $2 million mean? If parents need a safe place for their children go to after school, if they need help with their child to complete homework assignments and prepare for a successful transition to adulthood, if parents need fun and educational activities, the city can provide this,” said Coppin, who was joined at the rally by San Jose City Council member Chappie Jones, whose mother was a librarian.
“I know first-hand the impact that libraries have on the lives of the members of our community,” said Jones, who urged his colleagues to restore hours and staffing in the budget process. “To have access to the library for more hours will have a tremendous impact on the lives of our residents.”
ST. PATRICK’S DAY RETURNS: It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since the last St. Patrick’s Day bash at Los Gatos’ venerable C.B. Hannegan’s, which closed its doors at the end of 2017 and has been replaced by, well, nothing since then. But restaurateur Alexander Hult is hoping to bring back that St. Patrick’s Day spirit at Mountain Charley’s at 15 N Santa Cruz Avenue, where he and Jim Foley, part of the building’s ownership group, are planning a “ShamRock-N-Roll Party” on March 17.
The festivities get started at noon, with live music, food, DJs and, yes, green beer.
‘VIETGONE’ WILL BE HERE SOON: City Lights Theatre Company in San Jose just closed Agatha Christie’s “The Hollow,” which had its full run shifted back two weeks because of COVID-19, and is quickly putting together its next show, “Vietgone,” which opens for a monthlong run March 24.
The play by Qui Nguyen is both a hip-hop comedy and a love story of Vietnamese refugees who settle into American life in Arkansas in the 1970s. Southeast Asian arts group Chopsticks Alley is the City Lights’ nonprofit partner on the show, and Executive Director Trami Cron brought a group of Vietnamese community leaders to watch rehearsal with the actors and director Jeffrey Lo. You can can get tickets to the real thing at www.cltc.org.