Josh Polston has never made a movie. Nor is he an aspiring filmmaker. Fumbling with his mini camcorder, he says, “I got one of these things because I have kids.”
Needless to say, he never expected to make a short film that debuted at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, July 23 to the hollers and whoops of 1,000 spectators. But he did.
It was Polston’s first participation in Cinemasports, a guerilla filmmaking event that challenges anyone to write, shoot and edit a 3-minute film in 10 hours.
In its first partnership with the SFJFF, Cinemasports allowed for a day of pure creative energy with no interruptions — the perfect solution for Polston, a professional consultant and family man with every other commitment.
Allowing novice filmmakers to develop their skills was a big part of adding Cinemasports to the 26th festival program. “It’s the incubator for new talent,” says Peter Stein, SFJFF’s executive director.
“I think people will show up to support the local filmmaking community. Years from now they might say they saw the first film of the filmmaker who won at Cannes and Sundance,” adds Nancy Fishman, the SFJFF’s program director.
Cinemasports creator Jin Woo Joo kicked off the filmmaking frenzy at 9 a.m. July 23 with a chant: “When I say cinema, you say sports: Cinema — SPORTS! Cinema — SPORTS! Cinema — SPORTS!”
The 114 participants, separated into 25 groups, needed the adrenaline boost for the next 10 frenetic hours.
The finished films would debut at the historic Castro Theatre in the 11th hour of the filmmaking event. But not without a catch — all films have to include three secret ingredients revealed at the kickoff: a Freudian slip, a Yiddish/Hebrew word and a kiss.
Let the shvitzing begin.
Joo believes the filmmaking process sets Cinemasports apart: “Obviously you trade off some of the ability to make sure you have the perfect shot or exact dialogue, but what you do get in return is a spontaneity and momentum people rarely feel in filmmaking.”
There was no knowledge of Jewish culture necessary to participate, and the Jewish theme did not faze the non-Jewish participants.
Pollyanna Lee from team Film For Your Thoughts, for example, thought nothing of her Asian background. “I’m pretty much Jewish,” she explained, “My friends dubbed me the Buddha-Jew.”
Betty Polston, sister of Josh and a member of team Betty! Good Productions came prepared in case the ingredients would be more overtly Jewish: “We have a son of an Orthodox rabbi on call.”
As for multi-ethnic group We Are Not Amused, the Jewish theme meant one thing: an expression of the Middle East conflict.
Composed of Indian, Pakistani, Scottish, Korean, African American and Jewish participants, ranging in age from 30s to 50s, We Are Not Amused chose to combine its hobby of filmmaking to tell the story of an Israeli soldier caught in the psychological trauma of death. Unable to tell his girlfriend about his slaying of a Palestinian family, he is on the brink of a mental breakdown. The film, “A Decade of Loss,” is a serious reflection about the conflict, rather than the expected farcical short.
The conflict is something that’s always interested director Leena Prasad, who came up with the idea with co-writer Sunil Maulik on the walk back from the kickoff.
“We saw something that maybe provoked thought instead of just another story — something beyond entertainment,” Prasad says of the Middle East topic. “Maybe because we’re not Jewish, that’s what we’re more aware of.”
For the members of We Are Not Amused, filmmaking is a passion, but it’s not a living. Their day jobs include software engineering, piano teaching and consulting. As participant Bob May says, “I’ve got to eat.”
Though Prasad wanted to be a director since she was 15, she chose a career in software engineering and consulting. She has taken a few acting classes and film classes, but her day job leaves little time for filmmaking.
On Sunday, though, she was able to live her dream, moving furniture out of the way to block scenes, directing her actors on their emotional state of mind and casually asking them if they signed their release forms.
Cutting her 40-minute footage into 3 minutes took a few hours of rushed editing, but Prasad was the second to turn in her film. Right before the screening, she said, “I feel such a natural high right now.”
According to Joo, the natural high is part of the completion of the process: “There are no sleepless nights in Cinemasports. We in our daily lives have too many projects that we agonize over. At Cinemasports, you’re celebrating before you go to bed.”
Though her first thought after finishing involved “getting trashed,” Prasad didn’t celebrate her debut at the Castro Theatre. “I have to go to work tomorrow, so celebrating has to wait,” she explains. “I can’t let this life interfere with my other life. This is my weekend life. That’s my weekday life. I’m more passionate about this, but I have responsibilities.”
At the screening of the Cinemasports films, the energy was palpable as variations of “woo-hoo’s” echoed in the theater. “This is the wildest thing we’ve done here in a long time,” announced Stein, the film festival’s executive director.
Even with some technical difficulties, the Cinemasports Castro Theatre debuted 23 original films, with enough references to shmucks, shmendricks and goy toys to make your bubbe blush. Other highlights included Jewish tribute bands making a comeback and a special homage to noshing and plotzing via a “world premiere” music video.
“A Decade of Loss” was one of the only films with a somber message. “We were kind of bold to do something more serious,” We Are Not Amused member Meg Ha remarked after the screening.
Stein was impressed with their attempt. “Making a serious point in three minutes is a difficult thing to do. I admire those who didn’t go for the quick laugh. Extra credit for them!”
Though not needing the Orthodox rabbi’s son, Betty Polston found the experience “mesmerizing.” Her brother Josh agreed: “[The screening] came close to feeding my insatiable ego.”
After his first Cinemasports, he wants to continue filmmaking. “I have a lot of hours of footage with my 3-year-old. I want to edit it all into an opus,” he says. As for celebrating, they were way ahead of the crowd: “We snuck in two six-packs to the theater.” L’chaim!
film festival schedule
For a complete listing of the 26th annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, including times, ticket prices and theater locations,
visit the festival Web site, www.sfjff.org, or call (925) 275-9490.
You can also see the schedule on thej. Web site .