The San Pedro Film Festival will kick off its preview programs on Saturday, Feb. 17, with the 2024 Oscar Nominated Shorts program, featuring narrative/live action, animation and documentary offerings.
The series features live action shorts (7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, and March 9); animation (7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24); and documentary shorts (6:45 p.m. March 2).
The showings will be at the Starlight Terrace Cinema, 28901 S. Western Ave., in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Tickets are available online through Eventbrite and are $15 per night or $45 for a three-night package. Tickets are also available at the box-office the nights of the showings, both cash and cards are accepted.
The San Pedro Film Festival’s preview event includes more than a dozen offerings. Most are about 30 minutes long but some are only about 10 minutes. Live action shorts will be shown Saturday and March 9, while animated shorts will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The live action and animated films are:
- “Invincible” (live action), a 2022 Canadian film, inspired by a true story, recounting the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom.
- “Knight of Fortune” (live action), a 2023 Danish film about the loss of a loved one.
- “Red, White and Blue” (live action), which was made in the United States in 2023 and highlights a single parent living paycheck-to-paycheck and dealing with an unplanned pregnancy that takes her across state lines for an abortion.
- “The After” (live action), a 2023 film from the United Kingdom that follows the story of a Londoner who has to reconnect with himself and society after witnessing a violent attack.
- “The Wonderful Story of Henry” (live action), another 2023 United Kingdom film, which recounts a beloved story by Roald Dahl about a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.
- “Our Uniform” (animated), an Iranian film, in Farsi, featuring an Iranian girl unfolding her school memories using the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform.
- “Letter to a Pig” (animated), a film in Hebrew about a Holocaust survivor who reads a letter he wrote to the “pig” who saved his life.
- “Pachyderm” (animated), a U.S. film about a young girl who visits her grandparents for a vacation in a year that features snow falling in summer and a monster who will die.
- “Ninety-Five Senses” (animated), a U.S. film that’s an ode to the body’s five senses, delivered by a man with little time left to enjoy them.
- “War is Over!” (animated), a U.S. film inspired by the music of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and set in an alternate World War I reality where a senseless war rages on and two soldiers, on opposite sides of the conflict, play a joyful game of chess.
The documentary shorts being shown on March 2 include “Island Between Synopsis,” which looks at the relatuonship between Taiwan and China; “Nai Nai & Wai Po” (Mandarin), about the directors grandmothers; “The ABCs of Book Banning,” which interviews children and authors; “The Barber of Little Rock,” which looks at America’s widening racial wealth gap through the story of a local barber; and “The Last Repair Shop,” which tells the story of four unassuming heroes who ensure no student is deprived of the joy of music.
The short films constitute the first event that would normally be held at the downtown San Pedro Warner Grand Theatre — but can’t because it’s temporarily closed for at least a two-year renovation period.
“In prior years, it was always at the Warner Grand,” said Ziggy Mrkich[, founder of the San Pedro Film Festival, now in its 13th year. “It’s a little different.”
While they’ve used some other venues in the past, the festival, which will host its main offerings in November, has always been centered around downtown San Pedro, she said.
She said it’s not clear yet where the larger annual festival will land come November — but the search is on.
“We have to take a look at what other venues there are,” Mrkich said. “We’ve screened (films) at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (auditorium in the past) but there are time restrictions there — no Sundays and it has to finish up by 5 p.m.”
Liz Schindler Johnson of the Grand Vision Foundation — the group that helps raise money for the Warner Grand — said there will be challenges ahead for many of the film festivals, stage offerings, concerts and other local programs that will need to find new venues in 2024 and 2025. Challenges will include possibly paying higher fees, along with restrictions on parking, seating and scheduling. Folks also may have to drive a bit farther, with some events possibly being held in El Segundo or other communities outside of the Harbor Area.
“I think the ‘Nutcracker’ (San Pedro Ballet) is looking at Dana (Middle School in San Pedro) and at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center,” Johnson said. “I know the Golden State Pops (Orchestra) is still taking a hard look” at its options, she added.
The Starlight Terrace theaters, where Mrkich is screening her Oscar-nominated shorts, is another site that likely will be used for some of the film events.
But some presentations, Mrkich said, just need the historic ambiance of San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre.
Each year at Christmas, for example, her group has put on a showing of the beloved holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“How do you screen ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at a newer theater?” she said.