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Local to San Jose film festival guide

Photoshopped leaves.

Everyone has heard of Sundance or Cannes but what about local artists? Here's a chance to meet up and coming filmmakers right here in our very backyard.

Cinequest
http://www.cinequest.org/
Cinequest is the big wheel right here in San Jose. What started out as a small little circuit of independent films has become a huge attraction bringing in over 60,000 visitors during its now long run of feature films, short films, and animated films.  The festival runs usually from late February to March.

Red Rock Cafe Film Festival
http://www.redrockcoffee.org/
Red Rock Cafe is a non-profit coffee shop in downtown Mountain View(the city that is 10 miles west of San Jose). They have free wifi access and two story building with lots of live music among other art by mostly locals and this July 10th at 7:30pm they are holding their own first film festival July 10th, 2009. The theme of all short films presented is hope. Go in and grab a drink and maybe a slice of cake while watching a couple of under ten minute short films by local residents.

Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival
http://www.svjff.org/films/
The Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival mission statement is to develop and present a program of films, which will facilitate a stronger sense of identity and belonging within the local Jewish community while reaching out to the non-Jewish community to improve awareness and understanding of Jewish culture and experience. Get to know another culture. Check them out this October 18-November 11, 2009

Asian American Film Festival
http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/
The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival has a venue every year in March. The SFIAAFF is the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, annually presenting approximately 120 works in San Jose. The festival has been an important launching point for Asian American independent filmmakers as well as a vital source for new Asian cinema.

Arab Film Festival
http://www.aff.org/
Boasting a festival in San Jose, the Arab Film Festival is looking to enhance public understanding of Arab culture and to provide alternative representations of Arabs that contradict the stereotypical images frequently encountered in the American mass media. The Arab Film Festival screens films from and about the Arab World that provide realistic perspectives on Arab people, culture, art, history and politics.

Poppy Jasper Film Festival
http://www.poppyjasperfilmfest.org/
What, you say you don't want to drive 45 miles to San Francisco to see a film festival? How about 25 miles away?(Plus there is a Sonic Drive-In on the way there but please do go see the San Francisco International Film Festival, there are many public transport options or carpool and use the diamond lane to get there.) Poppy Jasper Film Festival is dedicated to the screenwriter as well as the filmmaker as they have screenwriting competitions for short scripts. All films at the festival are considered short feature films which will be thirty minutes or less.

This is a list compiled of a few good places, but not definitive, to spend some time on the festival websites and at their screenings. Some good advice is to bring a friend along with you to the screenings.