A down-on-her-luck woman attempts to rob a bank; a deadbeat father overcomes the guilt brought on by neglecting his overachieving son; a promiscuous woman reluctantly adopts her 12-year-old half-brother—all in the span of about 30 minutes.
“Monica,” “The Impossible” and “Burning Memories” were some of the California State University, Long Beach student-produced short films screened at the second annual Long Beach Indie Film Festival this weekend.
The festival’s lineup also included a selection of short films from across the globe. The aim of the festival was to reveal stories from different perspectives of nationalities, according to Daniel Walker, the festival’s director.
He chose to hold the festival in Long Beach because not only is the city his hometown, but it’s also home to a diverse array of ethnicities. Walker said that because of the diversity of the films presented, the diverse audience would show interest in indie films.
Most of the CSULB student films centered on dramas wherein characters had to overcome an obstacle, either inner or outer. While most of the CSULB student films were narrative-driven, one film, “Elite Forever,” was a documentary that focused on Disneyland social clubs—organized annual pass holders that typically share a common interest.
A former Disneyland employee himself, Director Trent Monahan said he set out to find one of the oldest and largest social groups in the park. He found a group that resembled a biker gang. After countless interviews with more than a hundred of the social club’s members and with some of the Disneyland staff, Monahan found that despite the group’s appearances, they were nothing more than a big, accepting family.
The film is still in the cutting room because he feels that there is some story development that needed to be changed, so he hasn’t submitted his film anywhere else.
Director Amelia Benavente felt that her film, “Burning Memories,” needed more money to help financially pay for its production. She turned to Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, for help. The film’s campaign met its goal of $1,665 after three weeks.
“I like pairing two characters together that would have an unlikely relationship, therefore there would be some sort of interesting conflict. It’s interesting to see how they would get along at the end of the story,” Benavente said.
Walker wanted CSULB films to be shown at the festival because he wanted to help them grow out of the university incubator.
“It’s about them being a leverage point to move from the Film and Digital Arts Department to becoming a legitimate film director, writer or actor,” Walker said. “How can I call it Long Beach Indie if I don’t showcase films from CSULB?”