Local filmmakers are encouraged to submit short films to the Central Coast Showcase, a film screening event that will be held during the upcoming Central Coast Entertainment Expo at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande.
The deadline for film submissions is Friday, Sept. 15. The expo will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7, with screenings, film workshops, and other programs held throughout the day between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The theme of this year’s Central Coast Showcase is Show, Don’t Tell. Applicants are asked to submit short films that were filmed on the Central Coast and feature little to no dialogue. The submission fee is free for students and $15 for adults.
Finalists in the competition will be featured during a Q-and-A held after the showcase screenings, and they’ll be asked about their experience filming their shorts and about any current and future projects.
Each finalist will have access to all programs included in the expo and will receive two tickets to the 100th anniversary celebration of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, presented by the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation at the Clark Center, during the expo at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. and regular admission to the event ranges between $35 and $45.
The celebration will include a presentation that outlines the history of silent films produced along the Central Coast and their impact on modern day films and will conclude with a screening of the segment of The Ten Commandments shot in Guadalupe, with a live music accompaniment.
Sponsors of The Ten Commandments celebration include the Central Coast Film Society, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, the Royal Guadalupe Visual and Performing Arts Center, the Clark Center, and the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
Admission to the Central Coast Showcase screening segment of the event is free. To find out more about the Central Coast Entertainment Expo and its full schedule of events, visit centralcoastfilmsociety.org.
This article appears in Aug 24 – Sep 3, 2023.