OCEANSIDE — The four-day Oceanside International Film Festival concluded with an awards gala at the Star Theatre on Aug. 19.
“Working Class” by director Jeffery Durkin of San Diego went home with the festival best picture trophy, festival best full-length documentary award, and audience choice award for best full-length documentary.
The film is a tale of two underground artists in two cities. It features artists Mike Maxwell of San Diego and Mike Giant of San Francisco. The film poetically shows the cities’ influenced on the artists’ works and references quotes from Charles Dickens.
“I realized artists say the same things throughout history,” Durkin said.
The film took a year and a half to shoot and another year to edit.
Another highly awarded film was “Boy With Blue” by executive-producer Cory Anderson of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The full-length narrative won the festival award and audience choice award for best full-length narrative.
In the film, cinematography and a montage of present and remembered moments tell the difficult story of a family facing the loss of their teenage son.
“What really made it come alive were the actors,” Anderson said.
“It gives people a chance to think about how important life and relationships are,” David Thorpe, the film’s director, said. “Through tragedy and triumphs, that’s the thing that’s most cherished.”
The film cost under $2,000 to make and was remarkably shot in less than 24 hours.
In the animated film category, “Thumb Snatchers from the Moon Cocoon” by Brad Schaffer, of Valencia, won the festival award and audience choice award for best animation.
Other festival winners included “Angel’s Reach” by Al Germani of San Diego, which won festival best short documentary and “The American Dream of Owning a Mobile Home” by Promise Yee of Encinitas (The Coast News reporter), which won the audience choice award for best short documentary.
“Curvas” by Eduardo Moises Escribano Solero, of Spain, won festival best short narrative and “The Lucky One” by Bala Balakrishnan of Tustin won the audience choice award for best short narrative.
Other notable films include “Haircut” by producer, writer and director Larry McCusker, of Vista, and “C’est Magique!” by co-producer, writer and lead actor Fabienne Maurer of France.
In the narrative short comedy “Haircut,” an animated circular saw blade stalks businessman Bill Mitchell played by Michael Vasquez.
In the narrative short “C’est Magique” a young woman who has achieved her life’s dream looks back at the magic and quirky humorous experiences that got her there.
Maurer said she hopes the upbeat film helps people realize that magic happens inside all of us.
A complete list of films and awards is available at ocaf.info.
