Coronado Island Film Festival Announces 2023 Program Slate

Just across the sweeping blue bridge from downtown San Diego, The Coronado Island Film Festival [CIFF] is back for its 8th season! Independent films alongside studio premieres, engaging panels, parties, and of course the signature event, the Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Awards Gala will be held over 5 days from November 8-12, 2023. For over a 100 years, Hollywood film- documentary SUSAN FENIGER. FORKED, a verité style film by award-winning filmmaker Liz Lachman as she captures the raw, behind-the-scenes moments and the impactful career of her life partner: iconic culinary artist, author, entrepreneur and James Beard award-winner, Susan Feniger. Susan has cooked for everyone from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to Oprah and

A special Vans and Wahoo’s pre-party with Steven Van Doren, Vans’ Vice President of Marketing and Special Events and son of the Vans’ founder and Wing Lam, Co-Founder of Wahoo’s will be hosted on Sunday, November 12 ahead of the screening of HUMANITY STOKED. The documentary features Pro Skateboarders Tony Alva, Lizzie Armanto, and San Diegan about the beauty in overcoming fear and other challenges facing humanity as seen by icons of pro skating, science, art, music, activism, and education, all of whom share experiences and perspectives shaped by their love of skateboarding. A Q&A will follow the film with Director Michael len Cohen, Lizzie Armanto, and Tony Alva focusing on understanding fear, depression, addiction, makers, celebrities, producers have flocked to Coronado to film, work, play and be inspired. CIFF is proud to be part of the Island’s cinematic legacy and is ready to roll out the red carpet for another year of films from every genre selected by the Artistic Director and programming team. The films are made with passion and persistence by filmmakers at every level of the craft; from film students to indie filmmakers to Academy Award® winners who take part in panels, workshops, special presentations and more.

Red Carpet Films and San Diego premieres include the Centerpiece Feature, MAXINE’S BABY: THE TYLER PERRY STORY. A nod to his mother’s love, the Amazon Studios and Bekele Films documentary is a tender and intimate portrait of visionary and innovator Tyler Perry, following his harrowing but faithful road to the top of an industry that didn’t always include him. One of the featured Closing Night films, COMMON GROUND, narrated by

Laura Dern, is a sweeping and uplifting story of the pioneers of the “Regenerative Movement” who are forgoing the toxic seeds and sprays pushed by Big Ag in order to produce tremendous quantities of nutritionally dense food while bringing our entire ecosystem back to life.

A Culinary Cinema series will be held on Friday, November 10 featuring the education, activism, philanthropy, racism, sexism, homophobia, and the environment.

Lady Gaga. Following the film, there will be a demo and tastings from Susan and her famed restaurant Border Grill. A second Culinary event focuses on sustainability with a screening of Shannon Morrell’s compelling short SPEAR. SPATULA. SUBMARINE. A Q+A discussion will follow the film with Amy Steward, Founder of Emerald Keepers and Meghan McKee, head chef at the Coronado Yacht Club.

Other featured films include PAST LIVES, written and directed by Celine Song in her feature directorial debut. Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro, the film follows Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends who are wrested apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny; ISLE OF HOPE, a film that follows Victoria (Mary Stuart Masterson), a university professor with a grudge against her self-absorbed mother, the famed actress Carmen Crawford (Diane Ladd), for crushing her dreams of becoming a playwright. When Carmen suffers a life-threatening stroke and wakes up thinking she is living 15 years in the past, Victoria is given a unique opportunity to figure out where her life went off track and reconcile her relationship with her mother. Diane Ladd will be in attendance and will participate in a Q&A following the film moderated by Leonard Maltin; THE NANA PROJECT from Director Robin Givens (Riverdale, Batwoman TV Series) is set in the competitive world of chess following Nana’s (Academy Award® Winner Mercedes Ruehl) journey in a heartwarming feel-good comedy about reuniting her grandsons and supporting her retirement community.

CIFF will host the annual ShortsFest, this year featuring 12 creative, provocative and entertaining shorts tracks. The Shorts kick off on Thursday morning with a LOCAL SPOTLIGHT featuring local personalities, filmmakers, and compelling stories.

Hosted over Veterans Day weekend, it is tradition for the festival to honor our military heroes with an annual Salute to Veterans program. This year, CIFF will host a special presentation screening of THE GIFT, the story of Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal Jason L. Dunham and the Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines on November 10th. It is a story of courage, sacrifice and love. Additionally, a profound and moving Vietnam Wings Tribute Sculpture will also be on display throughout the festival weekend in the lobby of the Coronado Performing Arts Center courtesy of CJ Machado/Purple Foxes.

Various Special Engagements will take place including historian Tim Reid’s discussion of the historic Hollywood and Coronado connection through actress Olivia de Havilland. Local Coronadan, Christian Esquevin, will host a presentation of his new book, Designing Hollywood: How the Studio Wardrobe Department Created the Image of Golden Age Movie Stars. The book showcases the designers who dressed Hollywood’s stars from the late 1910s through the 1960s and the unique symbiosis they developed with their studios in creating iconic looks. Studio by studio, Esquevin details the careers of designers like Vera West, who worked on Universal productions such as Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dracula (1931), and Bride of Frankenstein (1931); William Travilla, the talent behind Marilyn Monroe’s dresses in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955); and Walter Plunkett, the Oscar-winning designer for film classics like Gone with the Wind (1939) and An American in Paris (1951).

Featured Panels include a War Photojournalist panel discussing what it means to be on the frontlines behind a camera lens and the harsh realities of what they witness, personally process and report back to the world. The Women on the Move Panel will highlight the influence and impact of women in the industry and how it continues to reshape, redefine, and reimagine the industry. The Representation Rising Panel will take apart the misconceptions of people with disabilities, and the importance of representation whether it be race, gender, or protected status, on the creative and innovative contributions to the entertainment industry. The Embracing Change - The Future of Entertainment Panel will feature industry experts discussing the state of the entertainment industry; from shifts in audience viewing habits, emerging technologies, representation, and sustainable productions, to making room for the next generation of filmmakers. The panel will be followed by a guided Q&A and a candid breakout session for an honest exchange between the panelists, filmmakers in the audience, and those hoping to enter the industry.

CIFF’s programming team and the festival’s CEO & Artistic Director since 2019, Merridee Book, have selected films from every genre that will be showcased throughout the festival. Studio and independent films, student and indie films, engaging panels, parties, and of course the premiere event, the Leonard Maltin Industry Awards Gala, hosted this year at Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa’s Commodore Ballroom, will take place over the 5 day festival.

Prior to her work with CIFF, Merridee served as the Vice President of a Development with the San Diego International Film Festival and has a storied career that spans the entertainment industry, publishing and producing. She is a strong supporter of the Arts and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Patrons of the Prado.

CIFF first launched in 2016 and was founded by Coronado native, Doug St. Dennis. Doug was partially raised in Coronado, born into a distinguished Navy family that spans six generations. It was there she took dance lessons, was a member of Junior Theater and acted and painted sets at the original Coronado Playhouse on the Strand. Throughout her life, she moved around a bit before finding herself back in Coronado as a Navy wife with three young children in the 60s, all the while she continued acting professionally and staying connected and involved in the arts throughout the Island and San Diego.

Tickets for the Kick-Off BASH and the Tribute Award Gala are on sale now, along with the festival’s all-inclusive Emerald Badge. The Emerald Badge is the best way to experience the festival as it includes pre-public early reservations for films, events, parties, priority entry line, the Kick-off BASH - Taste of the Festival, Opening Night Film + After Party, Jury Awards, panels, Culinary Cinema Series, and access to the Hospitality Lounge, as well as a discount on Gala tickets if purchased at the time of Badge purchase. Individual tickets are also on sale now. All events and screenings require a reservation on a first-come basis.

Don’t miss out - grab your passes now at www.festival.coronadofilmfest.com/