http://sjccm.org/

San Joaquin - Index

San Joaquin - may08 - Index

209
sAN jOAquIN
PEOPLE l PLACEs l THINGs
“The arts are really
a celebration, and I
believe stockton is
ready for a dynamic
event like the festival.”
–Sophoan Sorn
determined to expand the film and arts community in san Joaquin, sorn
has orchestrated the san Joaquin valley’s premier international film festival,
showcasing over forty films from fourteen countries around the world. “It’s been
exciting to see the interest generated so far,” says sorn. “We’ve received film
entries from australia, India, south africa, slovakia, and Iceland, to name a few.
Our festival’s Board of directors view [the films] and then vote for the selections
that we will screen at the festival.”
The multi-genre festival’s films will range from comedy to documentary to
drama, with global shorts and two cinema tributes to Latin america and Israel
that will open and close the festival.
Growing up in what sorn calls the ‘salad bowl’ of stockton, after
immigrating with his family from a life of Cambodian refugee camps, his bio
reads like a marathon to learn all there is worth knowing about the visual
arts, namely photography and cinematography.
“We were a part of that great immigration of people from many
cultures in the early nineties, and thanks to esL [english as a second
Language] classes, I was speaking fluent english six months later,”
he says. By age 18, he had started sophoan sorn Productions, where
his photographic portfolio came to the attention of dr. robert
Benedetti, executive director of the Jacoby Center for Public service
and Civic Leadership at the university of the Pacific. Benedetti was
directing an oral history project, “stockton speaks,” and needed a
photographer for the interviewees.
“sophoan was very effective in capturing the spirit of the people we
profiled,” says Benedetti. from sorn’s point of view, this experience was
pivotal. “I would do my work, eavesdrop on the stories of nine different
ethnic groups, and hear the viewpoints of multiple generations,” says
sorn. “Their stories really inspired me.”
Two years later, this same multicultural awareness motivated
sorn to found the stockton Crossing Cultural Bridges (sCCB),
now known as san Joaquin Cross-Cultural Media (sCCM), and to
produce its first documentary, To: Iloilo and Battambang, celebrating
Cambodian and filipino cultures, made in collaboration with the
stockton sister Cities association and the stockton arts Commission. sCCM
is now part of the recently-formed stockton arts Center alliance, which includes
such influential organizations as the stockton symphony association, stockton
Chorale, and With Our Words, Inc., a spoken word poetry association.
sorn acknowledges that naysayers may consider his latest endeavor, the first
san Joaquin film festival, overreaching in a time when stockton is struggling to
find its identity as a city. “Yes, you could question if people will have the time to
see a movie when they are working double jobs,” says sorn. “But the arts are really
a celebration, and I believe stockton is ready for a dynamic event like the festival.
It can do so much more for this city than just showcase films. When I think of how
we can grow this festival, I think about that epitome of independent film festivals,
the Toronto film festival. With its blend of education, film screenings, and other
programs, it now draws nearly a half-million attendees a year.”
Benedetti agrees. “There’s a lot of very good learning that takes place when you
bring the public and the art communities together, and I really applaud sophoan’s
efforts in creating this festival. his negotiating and fundraising skills are remarkable.
not only is sophoan a great artist, he is also very good at getting people together.” If
anyone can pull this ambitious venture off, it will be sorn, he adds.
FiRsT inTeRnaTionaL san joaquin FiLM FesTivaL June 4-8, 2008
for more information and ticketing locations, visit www.sjccm.org
20 san joaquin magazine maY 15 - JULY 1 2008