Four different stories were told through the art of filmmaking — but all showcased locations in Santa Barbara.
The work of local filmmakers was front and center Wednesday afternoon a free Santa Barbara International Film Festival seminar.
More than 40 attendees were all ears and jotted notes during the four-person panel.
UC Santa Barbara film and media studies lecturer Chris Jenkins specializes in international documentary productions.
His work has been broadcast on Discovery, PBS stations, A&E, the History Channel, the Travel Channel and the Sundance Channel.
The Stanford University graduate and filmmaker worked with refugees in East Africa as a United Nations volunteer and orphaned children in Southern Chile as an Ambassadorial Scholar, before receiving his master’s degree in documentary film and video.
“I’m always ready to go to another place and learn from people abroad,” Jenkins said. “My interest in the world is always there.”
Jenkins’ film Lost Crops — a documentary short about a doctor, botanist and humanitarian in search of sustainable superfoods — made its debut at SBIFF.
Scenes in the film are shot in Colombia, Ghana, Tanzania and a small portion was in Santa Barbara. “Santa Barbara was a beautiful place to film at,” Jenkins said.
For nearly 20 years, the botanist highlighted in Jenkins’ film created a garden in Montecito. “It’s one-of-a-kind, with species he has brought back from different parts of Africa,” Jenkins said.
Director and producer Casey McGarry returned to Southern California after graduating from the Fordham University at Lincoln Center in New York City.
The Boatmaker tells the story of architect and longtime Montecito resident Ken Minor who strives to launch his handmade boat with the intent on sailing around the world after building it for 25 years.
“Even though it’s a Santa Barbara story, I tried to tell a universal story,” McGarry said.
McGarry started his film company called The Archive Room and wanted to continue with documentary film after previously producing and recording music in Los Angeles and working on the television show New Girl.
He offered words of advice about working in the film industry.
“If your heart’s not in it — and it’s a story you don’t want to tell — it’s probably a waste of time,” McGarry said.
He filmed in the Sycamore Canyon area.
“The setting in my film is its own character,” McGarry said. “I make the audience realize the beauty of Sycamore Canyon.”
Santa Barbara native Ryan Slattery began his filmmaking career in October 2015.
“You don’t need permission to be a filmmaker,” Slattery said. “Doing (filmmaking) is incredible. You learn a lot.”
His adventure-drama short film, One Shot, tells the story of an ex-military man returning home and on a personal mission.
During the filmmaking, Slattery was searching Santa Barbara for the most run-down, gritty spots.
He was on the hunt for old bridges, alleyways and buildings which proved difficult, which made attendees chuckle.
“It was pretty hard to find,” Slattery said. “I remember being frustrated like ‘Why is this town so pretty? Where do I have to go?’”
Filmmaking remains a hobby for Slattery, who works full-time in construction.
“It’s a learning process,” Slattery said.
Award winning photographer Sky Bergman’s film hit the big screen at SBIFF.
Her fine artwork is included in permanent collections at the Brooklyn Museum, the Bibliotéque National de France in Paris, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Los Angels County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Seattle Art Museum.
Lives Well Lived — a documentary about 40 people ages 75 to 100 who share their life experience — is her first directorial debut.
She filmed at Santa Barbara locations including Chaucer’s Bookstore on upper State Street.
“You can find unique and interesting places,” Bergman said. “Because Santa Barbara is a small community, you can go to a place, talk to the owner and ask to shoot.”
The Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo photographer and video professor said her SBIFF feature-length documentary story started with her grandmother.
“The most important thing is that you have a good story to tell and go from there,” Bergman said. “It’s not about the gear and equipment. It’s about the passion of the story.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
