Staff Report

  This Labor Day weekend, remind yourself that the best cinematic stories do not have to be told in more than 90 minutes with enormous budgets. The 5th annual Benicia International Film Festival returns with a wide variety of films from throughout the world that cover a range of topics and stories.

   More than 300 films were submitted to the film selection committee. The selected films are short entries with a couple approaching an hour in runtime. Many of the entries come from America but others come from all over the world, including Belgium, Germany, Finland, Poland, Iran, Italy and Japan.

   The three-day event is sponsored by the Arts & Culture Commission and will continue to raise money for the citywide Public Art Initiative. The festival will kick off at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31 with a gala at the Veterans Memorial Hall, featuring music, food, drinks and a couple films. Friday’s movies include Robert Belinoff’s “Georgia O’Keefe and Me,” about a married man who falls for an artist ingenue; and Justin and Kristin Schaack’s “Rag Dolls,” about a girl who discovers rag dolls in an antique store and lets her imagination run wild.

   The festival will continue at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Veterans’ Hall with even more movies. Saturday’s films include Marcin Gizycki’s “Monument,” about a secret life of monumental sculptures in the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw; and Emanuel Altenburger’s “Chamber Music Wonderland,” about a group of musicians who establish their own music festival at a Western Austrian monastery to showcase 500 years of chamber music. Sunday’s movies include Gabe Schmidt’s “The Man with a Plan,” about a bank robber who faces a wannabe superhero in Legoland; and Bill Wisenski’s “Shadow of a Drought,” which explores California’s water crisis.

   The movies have been split into several categories: Art in Film, Eco-Sustainability, Smartphone Films, Animation, High School and Younger Student Shorts, Short Shorts and Film School Shorts.

   The Veterans Hall is located at 1150 First St. Tickets are $75 for a weekend pass, $45 for the Friday Gala, $20 each day for Saturday and Sunday and a $10 segment pass for Saturday or Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the Benicia Public Library, 150 East L St.; Benicia Main Street, 90 First St.; or online at beniciafilmfestival.com. For more information, including a list of all films, go to beniciafilmfestival.com. 

Sharing is caring!