The Next Generation In A Film Festival

By Frank Miller

A Christie Digital projector can cost a pretty penny to rent or own. A projector like the Roadie HD + 12k, which plays movies in pristine HD, was a steal for Jaime Gonzalez, president of the Next Gen Film Festival. He got to rent his for free on one condition: it was only free for film festival use. However, there was a small problem: At the time, he hadn’t started the festival yet.

Gonzalez, a filmmaker and film-enthusiast, always had pipe dreams about starting his own film festival, but said the offer from the people at Christie Digital made those dreams "a little more tangible."

He partnered with Hatzune Aguilar, who he knows from various political organizing efforts, including volunteering for the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina. They both currently work at Jim Gonzalez and Associates where Gonzalez, 25, is the media director, and Aguilar, 27, is a Senior Policy Analyst.

The two began to piece together their plans for the festival and decided that since the projector they wanted was an HD projector, the festival would focus on new technology in film – and the Next Gen Film Festival was born. This festival is the first of its kind to showcase movies in HD.

"The technology is growing by leaps and bounds," Gonzalez said. "It’s opening the doors to younger filmmakers."

Gonzalez and Aguilar approached sponsors to help fund their endeavor. Because of the innovative nature of the festival, Gonzalez and Aguilar said they didn’t meet much hesitation.

As for the festival shorts, there will be up to 50 films, narrowed down from a field of approximately 200. The shorts will screen at Memorial Auditorium over four nights, from August 28 through August 31. The categories of the films are HD, digital animation, narrative and documentary shorts. Most of the shorts are world premieres, but a couple have screened at film fests such as Tribeca and Sundance.

"We judged the films just like you would judge a movie walking out of a theater," Gonzales said. "We chose short films because we wanted to be able to fit in as many movies as we could."

Also, with the support of Tracy City Council Member Evelyn Tolbert, the Next Gen Film Festival will hold a New Young Directors segment where juniors and seniors in high school will showcase their two-minute promotional movies for city programs.

Everything about the festival was approached from the perspective of a festival attendee. Ideas, such as being able to buy pizza, tapas and beer, and take them to your seat while you watch the films were born because the festival organizers thought about what they would want if they we’re attending the festival as a fan.

On opening night, there will be a VIP reception along with appearances by Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto), Adam Del Rio (The Pursuit of Happyness), Cinematographer Don McAlpine (Moulin Rouge!), and Will Bingham, winner of "On the Lot," a reality television competition for filmmakers. Mayor Heather Fargo will provide a welcoming speech on opening night and introduce the celebrities and Kevin Johnson will welcome people to the awards ceremony as well as present the audience award.

Audience members will also get to vote for their favorite films, with the top four being shown On Demand, courtesy of Comcast Cable.

Gonzalez and Aguilar have spent the better part of a year planning and organizing the festival. In the last three months, a staff of about 10 has been working hard to put the festival together. Since the festival is still in its infant stages, ideas are being born all the time, some of which will have to wait until next year.

"There was a point where I had to say ‘ok, no more new ideas,’" Gonzalez said with a laugh.

Tickets are $10 for each day or $25 for all four days. Tickets for the VIP opening night are $35 with free wine and hors d’oeuvres. Go to Tickets.com or Nextgenfilmfest.org for more information.